Assassins
by Kitty O
Summary: With Morgana on the throne and a rebellion so tiny it's almost nonexistent, things are looking desperate. And you know what they say about desperate times and desperate measures... No slash. AU starting after 3.12, spanning 3.13.
1. A New Queen

**A/N:** _NEW STORY! And it's (hopefully) going to be epic! *is pumped* This story might end up a bit longer than my others, though I'm not really sure. This story will come to you in three parts, subdivided into chapters. I want most of the chapters to be a reasonable length… Not too short. Now, Part One should be the shortest part... Only three or four chapters, I think... This is going to be AU of 3.13… and man, it's going to be really, REALLY AU. None of that change a scene or two, keep the dialogue. It's going to be an adventure with death and rebellion and even my first real reveal fic! So stay tuned!_ _I hope to update pretty regularly, but I don't want to set a date or time; I'm hoping to be more flexible with this story._

**Title:** Assassins

**Author:** Kitty O

**Rating:** T

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><p><strong>Part One: Refugees<strong>

**Chapter One: A New Queen**

Merlin didn't really hate Uther. He didn't like the man, not by a long shot, and yes, there _were_ times when he considered detesting the man for things he'd done – like when he'd killed Gwen's father, or when he'd let that Witchfinder hurt Gaius – but when it came right down to it, he couldn't. Merlin came in contact with too many of his good qualities—all of them obvious and shining through Arthur, the future king. Besides, Uther loved Arthur, and for that, Merlin was grateful. And on top of everything else, Uther was a broken man, and there were times when Merlin felt too sorry for him to hate him.

This was one of those times.

Uther was on his knees, being held down by enemies, forced to bow before his own daughter. And above him, Morgana wasn't bothering to hide her smirk, and her eyes glittered more than her crown, which looked too heavy for her head. It was all wrong and no man should have to go through that. Merlin really pitied him.

He pitied Arthur, too. He could feel the prince's breaths quickening into desperate pants. When Merlin snuck a glance, he saw that anger and betrayal had caused Arthur's eyes to go wide. He was still lying on his stomach next to Merlin, but his body was tense as though he wanted nothing more than to leap forward, off this little balcony, down into that throne room… and then what? Rant and scream? Run the witches through and put the crown back on his father? Die valiantly?

It was a horrible sight. Merlin looked down again. There was Morgana with that satisfied smile. It didn't suit her. She looked harsher with that smile, not half as pretty as usual. Merlin surprised himself by feeling a bit of pity for her too. From scared of execution to queen, and not really looking all that happier.

Of course he also pitied himself. After all, who was probably going to have to pull all these shattered pieces back together and fix a fractured Camelot? Merlin, resident secret warlock and unappreciated life-saver, of course; who else?

Speaking of which…

Merlin knew the time to sit there and dwell on this new turn of events was over. The crowning had happened, and Morgana and Morgause might not stay in that room long. They had to get out of the castle… They had to get somewhere safe – the woods with Gwaine and Elyan – and it would be best if they did it before Arthur came out of shock. Or before that infection in his leg got so bad that Gaius couldn't treat it and he lost the limb. They'd take care of everything else later… Uther, Morgana, and even Gwen, who Merlin had spotted with her old mistress.

Now they just had to get away.

Merlin's hand found Arthur's arm, and Arthur jumped and looked at his servant with those wide, horrified eyes. Merlin swallowed thickly. He was feeling a bit overwhelmed too.

_You aren't alone, Arthur. You're just the most shocked. _

"We need to get out of here," Merlin hissed. "_Now_."

"My father…" Arthur said back, but Merlin shook his head.

"There are only two of us, and most of them can't be killed. We need to wait, Arthur…"

Arthur looked like he wanted to argue, but his eyes flickered over to his sister with the crown on her head – Queen Morgana Pendragon, Geoffrey had said – and he seemed to realize that he was in over his head. He nodded silently.

Merlin inched backwards over the floor, getting to his knees as soon as he was far enough from the edge not to be spotted at once. Arthur copied his movement, and they both got to their feet as they crept out into the hall.

Arthur was trembling, from pain or anger Merlin couldn't tell, but it worried him. They needed to get to the woods.

Footsteps.

Merlin ducked into a niche, pulling in Arthur. A pair of guards passed leisurely, not even looking around, practically inviting an attacker. Arthur's hand clenched on his sword, but Merlin sent him a warning look.

_Immortal, remember?_

As soon as they were gone, Arthur checked to see if the coast was clear. His hand was still on his sword's hilt, white at the knuckles and eager to draw the weapon. It made Merlin nervous.

Pushing Arthur gently from the alcove, he pointed down the hallway. "Let's go find Gwaine and Elyan. Gaius will take care of that leg… Arthur?"

Arthur wasn't listening. He hadn't been listening for a long time, not to Merlin anyway. But from the look on his face, it was possible he was listening closely to some old memories.

"Arthur?"

Arthur looked at him. His face was tense. "She's my sister," he said, and the words were forced out past his moving Adam's apple.

"Yes," said Merlin. "Yes, she is." And he couldn't think of another word to say at the moment, so he just shut his mouth for once and turned to rush down the hall. There would be time for comfort when they were safe.

But he was kidding himself, and he knew it. Morgana was queen. They were now fighting a war to survive, a war against a woman so many people had considered a friend. There would be nowhere safe for them. And there would be very little time.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Morgana leaned back in her chair, her throne, feeling the strange way it fit into her back. When she breathed, it scratched a bit. This chair was so different from the one she had sat in before.

She liked it, but it was strange. It would all take getting used to, she figured, trying to get more comfortable without fidgeting.

Morgause stood before her, practically beaming. Gwen was… somewhere, doing something… Gwen-like. Probably picking flowers or something unimportant. Somehow that thought set her at ease. Her chair might be odd, but Gwen was reliable. Lovely, servile, never-to-be-queen Gwen.

She thrust her mind away from the dark-haired servant and back to the present. "Arthur and Merlin?" she asked of her sister, leaning forward.

"The prince was shot with a poisoned arrow," Morgause said, savoring each word, her usual way of talking. "He cannot have survived."

"But they did not see the body?"

That made her nervous. Arthur was the only one now who could possibly stand in her way. She wanted to see the body!

"He can't have survived," Morgause stressed, leaning forward, her heavily outlined eyes widening to get the point across. "My men told me there was no one around to give him medical attention except for the boy."

"Merlin?"

"Yes."

"And he survived?"

"Most likely," Morgause admitted. "But without his prince, what point would there be to return to Camelot? If he hears about your ascension to power, he will not return."

Morgana looked at her fingers. Her first decision as queen! How thrilling! But she kept her excitement inside. "Very well," she said. "But instruct the men to keep their eyes out for Merlin… He often has surprises, and in the worst way." She couldn't speak his name without a sneer. She almost wished he were here now. What would he think of her? She wasn't some powerless girl to be discarded anymore! She had the power… The power to have _him_ poisoned, if she wished. And if she could find him.

Morgause nodded, almost a bow. She looked proud. This was what they had been working for.

Now that Uther was captured and Arthur was dead, she could move on to the next matter of business. Securing the loyalty of her people. And, failing that, she would have to secure their fear. One was rather like the other sometimes. She had begun to learn that.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

A cave wasn't really a preferable place to treat an infected wound. It wasn't even an adequate place. But Gaius had to make do with what he had… Several instruments that a leery Arthur declared similar to those of torture, herbs, and several hands willing to help.

At last Gaius gently patted a tender but treated leg, saying in his dry way, "I think you are going to be very lucky, Sire… The infection should leave quickly, and within a few days you should be able to walk about as freely as ever."

"Thank you, Gaius," said Arthur, but he wasn't really feeling it. He looked distracted.

Merlin had sat by and watched with a concerned expression throughout the procedure, letting Gwaine and Elyan help, since they were both better medical assistants than he was.

Now, he stood quietly and left the cave, not saying a word to anyone. He navigated around the supplies and blankets and his own knapsack on the ground easily and slipped out the mouth of the cave.

Arthur didn't notice. He was staring rather pathetically at the air. Gwaine and Elyan didn't notice. They were talking in low voices.

Gaius heaved himself up onto his old, aching feet and followed the warlock.

"What did Arthur learn?" he asked Merlin's back. The warlock, who obviously had a death wish, stood in plain sight about five meters from the cave.

"What?" asked Merlin, turning.

"What all did he learn? What did he hear, see? It's not just the infection that's causing him to act this way."

Merlin sighed. "No, no, it's not. We watched Morgana be crowned queen, Gaius. He knows she's his sister. He knows about Morgause."

Gaius looked back towards the cave. "All the information at once…"

Merlin smiled a bit ironically. "He sure was surprised, but I don't think he just needs some sleeping potion to help him." The smile fled. "Gaius?"

"Yes?"

"I think it's time to tell him."

"What do you mean, Merlin?"

"About me. I think it's time to tell him, Gaius. We're going to need my powers before this is through."

Something akin to panic for a child that was straying too close to open flame came to the surface in Gaius's old chest. "Merlin, no! After today, his heart is sure to be hardened against magic for the time being. He's not ready."

Merlin sighed and looked out to the sky. "Arthur's a grown man. How can we say if he's ready or not? Besides, Gaius, I've got a plan, but I don't know how to make it happen if Arthur doesn't know."

He looked back at the cave, making sure no one was listening in. "What can he really do, other than run me through at once? He's not the prince at the moment. And he might never be again if we don't get Morgana off the throne." He took a deep breath.

_Arthur, I trust you with my life. I have for a long time, I won't stop now. I trust you with my life… with my life… _

"I think he'll hear me out."

Gaius studied him with worry in his eyes. He wanted to argue. He wanted to talk Merlin out of this crazy course of action. But he might be right. It might not be so crazy after all… Perhaps Arthur was mature enough.

Whether Arthur was ready or not, Merlin was determined. Gaius recognized the signs. The set jaw, the steady gaze… Signs that Merlin wasn't budging from his position. Arguing would be futile.

Gaius sighed.

"Tell me the plan, Merlin."

\-_-BREAK-_-/

"Gwaine, Elyan, Gaius wants your help with something outside."

Gwaine grunted as he pulled himself up. "No rest for the weary, I guess. Don't you know I need my strength to single-handedly save Camelot?" He winked as he spoke.

Elyan leapt up, cat-like and light in his cloak. "Come on, Gwaine," he said in that soft voice a little like Gwen's. "You can get your beauty sleep later."

They left, and Gwaine patted Merlin's shoulder as they went.

Merlin approached Arthur slowly, as though he were some wounded wild beast. Arthur was in the corner of the room, pacing painfully and stopping every once in a while.

"I'm sorry, Arthur," he said quietly, not bothering to reprimand the prince for getting up.

Arthur shook his head. "Doesn't matter."

"Of course it does," Merlin scoffed, rolling his eyes. "And I'm sorry. I know it's hard for you, the girl you grew up with…"

"I knew about her magic," Arthur said softly.

Now that threw Merlin. "_What_?"

Arthur threw his hands up in the air, like he was trying to shake off unseen tormentors. "Well, sort of," he confessed. "I guessed there was something there. All those dreams. They came true. She might not have thought we noticed, but I did. It scared me. I think it scared her too."

Merlin stared in wonderment. Arthur… had known?

Arthur looked up from the ground, his eyes sad, silently begging Merlin not to judge him, not to blame him for not telling the king of a budding magic-woman in their midst. "I thought… If that was it, and if the magic never went any farther… I thought surely that wouldn't corrupt her, not if I watched her closely enough."

Merlin shook his head as though getting water from his ears. "Arthur, I…"

"But I was wrong," Arthur said, his voice hardening. He stopped pacing to grab his sword and look impressive. "She has proven everything I knew about magic to be true. Magic corrupts; it _is_ evil."

Merlin took two steps forward to be standing next to Arthur. He should back out now. While he had a chance, he should back out now. Gaius was right. They should just get another plan… And he would wait to tell Arthur.

But for how long?

"Arthur," he said, "sit down."

Arthur looked confused but remained standing, so Merlin gave him a small shove onto a ledge on the wall of the cave that worked as a seat.

"Really," he repeated, "_sit down_. Now, I hope you don't really believe what you just said, because Arthur" – deep breath – "I have something to tell you."

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><p><strong>AN: **_TBC! Anyway, I tried to catch all typos, but it isn't beta'd, so please excuse (or better, point out!) any mistakes!__What did you think? You think it'll be a good story? I look forward to hearing from all of you…_

_~Kitty O of Awesomeness, PBO_


	2. A New Truth

**Title:** Assassins

**Author:** Kitty O

**Rating:** T

* * *

><p><strong>Part One: Refugees<strong>

**Chapter Two: A New Truth**

"Do you remember Will?"

"What?" Arthur wasn't quite sure what he had expected from Merlin at that point. He didn't know what was so important for him to say that he had shut up his master and commandeered the conversation. But whatever he'd expected, that wasn't it.

"Do you remember when we went to Ealdor to get rid of Kanen? Will was my friend… He took an arrow for you, remember?" Merlin was looking a bit peeved – and no wonder, if he thought Arthur had forgotten that Merlin's childhood best friend had given his life for the prince's.

Arthur, naturally, hadn't forgotten. "No, I remember," he assured Merlin, his eyebrows drawing together. This had nothing to do with Mor— _her_. Did it?

"Before he… died," Merlin started, sparing a moment to look sorrowful, "there was that whirlwind that got rid of all the bandits… That was when you said that one of us had used magic."

Arthur had a feeling he knew where this was going. He remembered what he'd just said to Merlin, that magic corrupted, that it was the very essence of evil. Merlin was about to point out that Will hadn't been evil.

"Will told you that he'd been the one of use magic to save the village." Merlin was looking straight at Arthur, almost through him, and Arthur's eyes dropped to the ground. He hated to defile the memory of Merlin's friend, but perhaps he just hadn't been using magic long enough for it to corrupt him. Merlin's point wouldn't disprove Arthur's beliefs.

"Well, he lied."

Arthur's head snapped up. _"What?"_ he gasped again, sounding oh-so-intelligent.

Merlin hadn't looked away. "He lied. He didn't use that magic."

Arthur suddenly experienced the sensation of being punched in the stomach. _But… but… _

"When I was a baby, before I could even walk or talk, I wanted to play with the pot my mother used to cook dinner, but she kept taking it away from me," Merlin continued, swallowing hard, but pushing on determinedly. "I cried a bit at first, but when she wouldn't look at me, I just stared at it… She was completely shocked when it floated down to me."

Arthur stared at him, uncomprehending. He knew Merlin was trying to tell him something, but it didn't make any sense. He didn't know what it was Merlin meant. Or… well, there was one thing he could mean, but that was impossible, wasn't it?

Merlin looked at Arthur, saw complete blankness, and knew he'd have to spell it out. He twisted his hands together in front of him, feeling the heat in his cheeks. "I have magic, Arthur, and I've had it since I was born. I've been using it since I was little, and for as long as I've known you."

The first thought in Arthur's head was _What? _However, he had the presence of mind not to blurt it out.

"That's not funny," he said at last. "Merlin, that's not funny." He stood up, propelling himself off the rocky ledge. Where was Gaius? Where were Gwaine and Elyan? He needed someone there whose eyes he could meet and have them tell him it was just a joke, just a sick joke.

"I know, I'm not kidding," Merlin told him quietly, standing his ground and looking at his feet. Now he'd jumped in with both feet; it was time to see how Arthur reacted to it.

"You have to be."

"I'm not. I can show you?" Merlin looked up, waiting for permission, and Arthur nodded dazedly.

Merlin held out his palm, trying to swallow back the panic that was screaming at him. _What are you doing? _something in his mind screeched. _You don't use magic in front of Arthur! That's not what you do! You hide, you don't show it! Stop, stop, stop!_

But he didn't. He'd decided it was time, and so, by the Old Religion, he _would_ show Arthur. _"Fflam,"_ he said to his palm, his voice so soft it was almost a caress, and his eyesight flushed golden. A tongue of fire blossomed in his hand and flickered up to greet Arthur.

Merlin looked up.

Arthur was staring at his hand, his eyes wide, his face completely lacking in any color. "You…" he choked on the words; they wouldn't come out right. "You're a sorcerer," he managed at last.

"Yes," Merlin said. "I am. I'm a warlock. And Arthur, I'm _not_ evil. I would never hurt Camelot." His voice began to come in a rush. This was what he wanted; Arthur seemed to be listening. "I just want to help, and I have this pl—"

Merlin was silenced by a sudden harsh pain across his face, and his head was whipped to the side with such force that he stumbled, lost his balance, and fell to the ground. He looked up quickly and caught sight of an enraged Arthur looming over him, his hand still balled into a fist, madder than Merlin had ever seen him.

_He hit me! _

"Arth—"

"You lied to me! You're a sorcerer! _Sorcerer_!"

Merlin scrambled to his feet as Arthur came forward, looking like he was going to strike him again. He backed up. "Arthur, listen to me!" _He's not taking this well at all. _

Something in Merlin's mind pointed out, _Did you really expect anything better? His magical half-sister just overthrew Camelot's monarchy today. _

Arthur was not listening. His face was red with the fury, his eyes were shining with betrayal and hurt. He came forward, throwing another blow, but Merlin jumped out of the way.

"You practice magic… traitor! You're… you're a liar, _nothing but a liar_!" Arthur's voice was rough and raw, as loud as he could make it, and it echoed impressively off the walls of the cave.

"I didn't choose to have magic, Arthur. I couldn't tell you… I was worried you'd react like _this_!"

Arthur may have planned on hitting him again, but he never got that far. Hearing the yelling, the rest of their group came running into the cave. Seeing the berserk prince looking like he was about to murder his babbling servant, Gwaine and Elyan rushed forward to restrain him. Gaius stood near the entrance to the cave, watching with a worried expression on his craggy face.

The men grabbed a shoulder each, but even then it took all their strength to hold the enraged Arthur back.

"He's a sorcerer!" Arthur yelled, and Elyan very nearly let go in his shock. Gwaine's eyes narrowed, but he didn't stop holding Arthur.

Arthur returned his attention to Merlin, practically spitting his words. "What was your plan, _sorcerer_? Planning on taking over Camelot, but Morgana beat you to it? Or were you working with her?"

He wasn't sounding any saner, but at least he wasn't trying to rip his arms out of his sockets by pulling away anymore.

"Oh, Arthur, listen to yourself!" Merlin replied, his voice rising, trying not to roll his eyes. "If that was why I came to Camelot, why would I have told you? That's not it. I want to help! I've been _protecting_ you!"

"You're lying. You're a liar. That's what sorcerers do." Arthur shook his head stubbornly. Gwaine and Elyan didn't release him, but neither entered the conversation. They just stood there, looking back and forth from Merlin to Arthur, and it occurred to Merlin that they might want to know what he had to say.

Merlin felt that sarcastic attitude that always came up when he got angry coming to the surface. That and his magic, but he kept _that_ firmly in check. "Yes, Arthur, I've lied, but I didn't have a choice. All I've ever done in Camelot is save it! I wouldn't work with Morgana… I've been working _against_ her!"

"Sorcery is illegal. My father banned that evil from Camelot." Arthur's breaths were coming in short spurts.

_Enough of this. _

"Arthur, yes, it was illegal, but unless you grab your sword and try and run me through right now, there's not much you can do about. Because in case you've missed it, _you're not the prince anymore_. And unless you listen to my plan, you may never be prince again."

That stopped Arthur in his tracks. His eyes widened, but all the hot anger in them froze.

Merlin took that as a sign that he was listening and plunged on, "I want to help, Arthur. That's all I've ever done. I realize you're angry because I lied and because you just witnessed what you think to be the evil of magic. I don't know if I can change your opinion about magic always being evil, but if you'll agree not to try and kill me before we take back Camelot, I can sure as hell try to."

For a moment, there was complete silence in the room.

Then Arthur looked at Gwaine and said, as calmly as could be expected, "Did you know about this?"

Gwaine shook his head. "No, but looking back, I really should have guessed."

Arthur looked at Elyan, who shook his head, totally bewildered. Arthur glanced at Gaius, but didn't even bother to ask.

Shrugging his shoulders, Arthur pulled away from the men's grasp. "Let go," he told them. "I'm not going to attack him."

They relinquished their hold on him reluctantly.

Arthur turned his eyes to Merlin, and the anger was still there.

"Alright," he said. "You help us, and I'll wait until after we get Camelot back until passing judgment, _sorcerer_."

Merlin nodded calmly, but he looked hurt all the same. "That's all I ask."

Arthur stomped out of the cave, not looking up as he went past his companions. He just went straight out silently, disappearing from sight. They waited for a few seconds after his departure before all eyes turned expectantly to Merlin.

"I think we should give him a few minutes to cool down," Merlin suggested.

"And in the meantime, mate, we should see to that bruise on your face. How hard did the princess hit you?" Gwaine walked forward, pointing to the swelling bruise on Merlin's cheek.

Merlin put a hand to it and winced. It stung, alright, and he could tell that his eye was already beginning to swell. "Not too hard," he lied. "I bruise easily."

Gwaine patted him on the shoulder, as though to say "I'm sure."

"You know," he told Merlin, "overall, that could have gone worse."

Merlin grimaced even as he chuckled. He couldn't forget that it still might get worse, if Arthur wasn't done being an ungrateful prat by the time they won back Camelot. How disappointing would it be to be condemned by the man he spent the better years of his life protecting?

\-_-BREAK-_-/

No one followed Arthur. Part of him was glad about that, but another part of him was sorry. If no one followed and tried to talk to him, then he had to think. And he had a lot of thinking to do. A lot of thinking that he would rather not do.

He walked out into the trees, wary of being spotted but needing to be alone, and settled himself into the trunk of a large, green tree that he didn't know the name of.

And then he thought.

Morgana and Merlin, all in one day. How was he supposed to cope with this? What was he supposed to do? On the one hand, he had Morgana betraying him and taking over Camelot, and on the other he had Merlin, magic Merlin, claiming he wasn't betraying him. Arthur wasn't sure he'd be surprised if _Gwen_ turned out to have magic.

There were a few truths that Arthur had held onto, that he had thought he knew for sure, no matter what, were always, _always_ true. And now… and now, with just a few words from Merlin, those truths had shadows cast on them; they were shaken. _He_ was shaken. Shaken worse than he would be after an earthquake.

Some things Arthur knew:

_Magic is evil. _

_The laws of Camelot must be upheld. _

_Merlin's a loyal friend that can be trusted until the end. _

And now he went and threw a new truth in there, and it caused chaos.

_Merlin has magic. _

That would make Merlin evil. But he thought he knew Merlin wasn't evil. And if Merlin wasn't evil, then neither was magic. But that would mean that despite all the vengeance seeking sorcerers Arthur had come across, there were some out there that were not bad. And if some were good, but Arthur and his father killed all sorcerers, then that would mean that Uther had ordered the death of some good people.

But was that so hard to believe? Arthur had seen him do that before. Gwen, Tom… _But they didn't have magic. _

And if Uther were here, he'd kill Merlin on the spot. _Merlin does have magic. _

Despite the fact that Arthur would have been happy to kill the sorcerer just seconds ago, the prince found that the thought of him being executed sent a little shiver down his spine.

The old tug of friendship. Because they weren't friends anymore, were they?

Were they?

Was Merlin bad, like magic, or was Merlin good? Was he an exception, like Merlin tended to be? Were the lies truly for good reason, like he claimed – and even if it was true, it still hurt Arthur worse than a branding iron to his skin – or were they to cover up dastardly intentions?

Was Merlin the man he thought he was or not?

Arthur let out a little groan that admittedly sounded slightly more like a whimper as he buried his face in his hands. He didn't know what to think anymore.

He'd promised to wait to pass judgment, but he wasn't sure he could actually manage that. He'd explode before then, he was sure.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _So, what did you think? I actually kind of like the way it turned out, and I admit that is how I think Arthur would have reacted in this situation. And thank you to all reviewers last chapter!_

_~Kitty O of Awesomeness, PBO_


	3. A New Plan

**Title:** Assassins

**Author:** Kitty O

**Rating:** T

* * *

><p><strong>Part One: Refugees<strong>

**Chapter Three: A New Plan**

Gaius was, generally speaking, quite skilled at keeping his expression neutral when he wanted to. But he was having a bit of trouble at the present moment. Still, he pinched his lips together and pressed on.

"Gaius, that hurts!" Merlin whined as the physician tried to put some liquid of some herb onto his face. "It's just a bruise, and that won't do any good anyway. Leave it."

Gaius pulled away and wiped his fingers on his clothes, but he didn't say anything. Merlin was right anyway… He wished for a moment that it was winter and he had some ice to bring down any swelling.

Merlin noticed his silence and sighed. "Gaius, don't be angry at Arthur. He's been through a lot today."

"That's no excuse," pointed out Gwaine, who was leaning on the wall and watching Gaius try to attend to his second reluctant patient of the day.

Merlin turned his gaze to the secret noble. "He didn't hit me that hard." Even if he personally was having quite a time trying to banish the last of his anger at his master – after all, that punch had _hurt _– Arthur didn't need everyone else mad at him as well. Besides, maybe if everyone else forgot about it, Merlin could.

Gwaine snorted, but Gaius finally spoke up. "As you say, my boy," he said, speaking calmly but not looking into Merlin's eyes. "I was simply concerned about Arthur walking on his leg yet again. He will not heal properly if he keeps it up."

Merlin could see that he was lying. "Don't be angry," he repeated a bit pathetically, like a sheep bleating.

"Angry?" said Gwaine. "Who's angry?" His hand was curled around the hilt of his sword.

The not-so-secret warlock sighed. He just wanted to move on, to tell everyone his plan and forget this ever happen… If the ache in his chest would let him.

Perceiving Merlin's sigh, Gwaine changed the subject. "So… it was you who made that fire that helped us escape Jarl's place?"

Merlin nodded, and Gwaine chuckled.

"Should've guessed. I suppose that means I owe you my life?"

"Don't… worry about it," Merlin mumbled, flapping at the air and blushing.

Gwaine studied him for a moment, trying to decide what Merlin would want to hear right now. Merlin had explained enough for Gwaine to put it together: the smaller, younger man had spent the past years of his life saving his friends around him, a thankless chore. And while the threat of execution hung over his head, too.

_I wouldn't have done it, _Gwaine told himself. _I'd have left. _

Well, maybe.

Just then the sound of footsteps at the mouth of the cave made everyone look up. Arthur stood there, his back as straight as it could be and his head back. Whatever control he'd lost a while ago, he'd gotten it back.

"Alright, _sorcerer_," he said with an inflection that made every single person in the room – including Elyan – have a sudden urge to punch him in the face. "We'll hear your plan."

Merlin sat still for a moment, staring at Arthur, his face throbbing and thoughts running through his head at lightning speed. Since he'd first come to Camelot and met Arthur, there were times when Arthur showed such maturity and such promise that it made all the hard times and the secrets and the lies worth it. Times when one could practically see the crown shining on his head. And then there were other times when Merlin seriously considered giving up, putting down everything and walking away from Camelot. Those were the times when going back to Ealdor to live with his mother again sounded like the most enticing idea he'd ever thought up.

This was looking like one of those times.

But no—he couldn't leave Arthur now. Complete jerk or not, Arthur needed help if he was to get his traitor sister off of Camelot's throne. And that's what Merlin was good for: helping.

_If you can't do it for Arthur at the moment, do it for Camelot. _

That he could do. Merlin heaved himself up from where he was sitting and turned to face everyone else, who was watching him expectantly. (Except for Gaius, who was fiddling about with his supplies and ordering Arthur to sit before he hurt his leg further.)

As Arthur finally conceded to sit against the wall of the cave, keeping his hand on his sword just like Gwaine, who now refused to look at the prince, Merlin launched into his speech.

"I've got this plan for taking back Camelot," he started rather nervously, rubbing his hands together. "It's not going to be easy, of course… There are only four – _five_, sorry, Gaius; _five_ of us at the moment. We have a physician, three people with swords, and me. Morgana has an entire immortal army, Morgause, and magic. It's going to be really, really hard to get through all of them and take back Camelot, and it will be dangerous for everyone involved—"

"Well, I'm feeling cheered up now," remarked Gwaine. "How about you, Elyan?"

Merlin ignored him. "If we're going to be able to do it, we'll need some way to protect us, to strengthen ourselves. And…" He shot a worried look at Arthur. "We're going to need to use magic."

"And that's where you come in?" Arthur interrupted in a dead sort of voice.

"No," said Merlin, putting up a finger. "We're going to need more than just me. I'm powerful, but not that powerful. What gave me the idea is…" Merlin paused, thinking about the vial given to him by the Fisher King. It was still in his pack. But maybe Arthur didn't need to know about the King yet. "Just something I have gave me the idea. If we collect all the magical artifacts we know of, we can use their power to fight Morgana. Since you don't even need magic to use them… um…" Merlin glanced at Arthur. He was staring at the floor, pale. "It doesn't even need to be me using them."

"What kind of artifacts are you thinking?" asked Elyan.

"In my room I have a staff… A Sidhe staff, the one Sophia carried around a few years ago."

"Why do you have that?" asked Arthur, looking up and speaking almost civilly.

Merlin's face was a bit pink. He should have figured Arthur would have some questions. "Turns out, she was a Sidhe – like a fairy – she was just stuck in a human body and needed, um, to sacrifice a human prince's soul so that she could leave the mortal body. So she enchanted Arthur… basically, we got Arthur back, and I've got her staff now, so let's not go into it any more." Gwaine was staring at him with an expression a little like awe and it was making him very uncomfortable.

"What else?" asked Elyan.

"There's that, in my room, under the floorboards. There's an enchanted sword. If we travel to the Isle of the Blessed, where Nimueh used to live, I'm sure we'd find some artifacts. There are also a few things in the vaults of Camelot, if we can get in… The Mage Stone, for example, is hidden in there, and we can use it to make money and buy replacement weapons or supplies. There are a few things, of course, that we don't want to mess with, like the Crystal of Neatid—"

"The Heart of Cornelius Sigan," cut in Arthur, glaring. "We will not unleash that upon Camelot again."

"Of course not," soothed Merlin. "But if we gathered everything else, maybe sent word to a few people who might be willing to help us… Lancelot for one." _Gilli, perhaps?_

"If only we could get more fighters on our side," said Elyan. "Like the knights of Camelot. They're all locked up now; Gwaine and I saw them."

Merlin shook his head. "We probably won't even be able to get into the vaults if I try and use magic to disguise us or make us invisible. There's no way we'll be able to get in, get all the knights and help them escape, then get out without sending all of Camelot into high alarm. We might as well send up a red flag saying, 'Here we are; we're trying to defeat you!'"

"Then you plan to keep all this quiet?" Gwaine said, raising his eyebrows.

"Morgana might not even know we survived Cenred's men attacking us. If she doesn't, we shouldn't tell her. If she does, then we don't need to draw attention to what we're doing. If she cracks down on us with all the power she's holding… We won't be able to hold them off. Yes, we want to stay quiet."

Everyone nodded. They understood that.

"And once we get the artifacts, we use them to get into the castle. We'll need to fight through Morgause for sure… Get to the Cup of Life; perhaps if we do that we can do something about controlling all the immortal soldiers."

"My father?" asked Arthur, bringing up something that had been on his mind since leaving Camelot.

"If we can get to him, we will," said Merlin. "If not, we'll have to get him after we defeat Morgana."

"That's your entire plan, then?" said Arthur, raising his eyebrows. "The last part sounds a bit incomplete."

Merlin took a deep breath. "Yes, that's all I have."

There was a moment of silence, and everyone seemed to mull this over… Except for Elyan, whose attention had wandered to outside, his eyes narrowed.

Arthur turned to Gwaine. "Do you think we should do it?"

"What?" asked Gwaine, a little surprised.

"Should we follow his plan?"

"Oh." Gwaine thought for another second and nodded. "Keeping quiet is not my usual way of doing things, but in this case it might work the best. I think we should do it."

Arthur looked at the other man. "Elyan?"

"Hm?" Elyan's head jerked towards Arthur. "Oh, I vote we do as Merlin says too." His sight wandered back to the outside, and he stood up. "I'll be right back," he mumbled, walking around Arthur.

Arthur accepted his vote and turned to look at Gaius.

"I believe Merlin's solution is the most viable option we have," said Gaius, nodding. Another good thing about this plan was that they could force Arthur to stay put for some of the collecting, so his leg could heal.

As Arthur looked at Gaius right then, he realized that Gaius, without a doubt, had known about Merlin's magic and never told anyone else. Gaius was a former sorcerer himself, after all. That gave Arthur something to be angry at all over again, but he found that he was becoming rather numb to these new revelations. He just wasn't feeling it.

Arthur looked at Merlin. "Well, sorcerer," he said, "It seems the others have all decided that the best course of action is to disregard the law for once."

"And what about you?"

Arthur stopped, took a deep breath, and nodded. "I can't think of a better way to get back the throne," he admitted, "and that's what's important right now."

_At least he can see that, _thought Merlin.

"Alright then," said Merlin. "We'll start with—"

He was cut off as everyone's head swiveled to the side. Elyan came rushing back into the room, gasping, his small eyes as wide as they could go.

"Two soldiers!" he cried. "They know we're here; they're headed for the cave."

Gwaine leapt up and drew his sword, but Arthur motioned for it to be put away. "They're immortal, Gwaine; that won't help us. We need to run."

"Where will we go?" asked Merlin, who had already shouldered his own pack and was reaching for Gaius's supplies.

"If we can lose them, we'll find a new hideout. Now's not the time," Arthur answered firmly.

"I'll just slow you down," Gaius tried to protest as Merlin took his arm, but the boy was having none of it.

Elyan and Gwaine grabbed what they'd put in the cave already, which was mostly several blankets, and the whole group trooped out of the cave as quickly as they could, not wishing to be caught inside. Sure enough, two soldiers had their swords drawn and were nearly at the mouth of the cave. They were close enough that Arthur had to jump back from one of their swords as the rest of the group filed past behind him.

There were two soldiers, like Elyan had said. Merlin didn't know how Elyan had heard them from a distance away, but obviously he had. They were decked out in their uniform, not in Camelot's red, helmets over their faces and swords drawn.

Gaius was lagging, and Merlin stopped dead when he saw Arthur in trouble, so Gwaine took the old man's arm and urged him along. Elyan was already several steps ahead.

One of the soldiers made to go past Arthur, and the other readied to kill the prince. Arthur started to draw his own sword and fight them off for as long as he could.

The entire scene was so silent that Merlin wondered if perhaps the soldiers had lost their ability to speak.

Coming forward, Merlin shoved the sacks he was holding into Arthur's hands. "Here," he ordered. "Take these."

"What…?"

"Run!"

"I don't…"

Merlin unceremoniously pushed Arthur away from the attacking soldier and raised his hand to block the blow from the sword with just a word: _"Gwthio!"_

The soldier stumbled back, his sword swinging harmlessly in front of him.

Arthur gawked, and Merlin glared at him even as he treated the other soldier who was trying to run past to the same spell. The soldier fell. "I said, run!" he yelled. "I'll hold them off!"

Not without one last, unsure look at Merlin, Arthur finally turned and followed after Gwaine, Elyan, and Gaius, who were a bit ahead of him.

Merlin nodded, satisfied that at least Arthur wasn't _that _hard-headed, and turned back to the two immortal soldiers. They were both on their feet, swords drawn, completely silent. Bending his knees, Merlin lifted his hand and got ready to fight until his magic was exhausted.

"All right," he said. "I'm ready."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**_ I'm not so fond of the ending, but oh, well, I tried my best. Maybe it's not as bad as I thought. Last chapter, by the way, the reviews – quality and quantity – pleasantly surprised me, so please keep it up! It makes me happy! Until next chapter…_

_~Kitty O of Awesomeness, PBO_


	4. A New Person

**Title:** Assassins

**Author:** Kitty O

**Rating:** T

* * *

><p><strong>Part One: Refugees<strong>

**Chapter Four: A New Person**

It was Arthur who insisted they stop and wait once they were out of sight.

At which point Gwaine dropped Gaius's arm like an empty glass and spun around, only just noticing that Merlin wasn't with them.

"_You left him behind?" _

Gwaine's hands were balled in Arthur's shirt right over his chest and his face was right up near Arthur's, but the prince just shoved Gwaine off of him, glaring.

"He had it under control," Arthur told him, bristling at once.

Elyan, up ahead, turned around and looked back. "What is it?"

"Arthur left Merlin back there with those guards… By himself," growled Gwaine, tossing his hair out of his face.

Elyan's eyebrows rose and he turned his eyes to look back where they'd come from, but he couldn't see it. They'd walked behind a stone cliff not too long ago to keep any men approaching from that side from spotting them. It worked the other way around too.

Then Elyan turned to face the prince, but this time Arthur didn't defend himself. He couldn't explain it… When Merlin had ordered him to run, what else could he have done? Authority had been practically coming off of Merlin in waves—Arthur had never seen that happen before. He was used to Merlin taking the orders.

_He's more comfortable being in charge the moment magic gets involved, _said a disgusted voice in his head. _Since he was born, he said. And he kept it from me all this time. _

He hadn't even known Merlin was capable of keeping a secret.

He didn't even know Merlin at all, he thought.

Arthur shook the thought from his head and came back to the present. Merlin had been left with throwing the two immortal soldiers around like rag dolls, and Gwaine was angry.

"I'll go back for him," started Arthur.

"_I'll_ go back for him," Gwaine corrected, glaring again, distrust on his face. One of the best things about Gwaine, in Arthur's opinion, was that once he latched onto someone and decided that person was his friend, he protected and cared for him or her with unbelievable zeal. Arthur hadn't earned the privilege yet, but Merlin had had Gwaine's friendship from the first.

_If I decide to… do something… about the sorcerer when this is over, I'll need to get Gwaine out of the way first, _Arthur decided—deep down in that part of his brain that was dedicated to being a knight at some kind of war. The rest of his mind was just annoyed that Gwaine wouldn't listen to him.

As Arthur opened his mouth to answer harshly, Elyan spoke up. "We might all go," he said in his soft voice. "It'll be dark soon."

"No one needs to go looking for me, but thanks," said a voice from behind them.

Only Gaius didn't jump, because he had been watching the edge of the rocks. The three young men spun around.

"Merlin!" Gwaine cried joyously, and went to pat the man firmly on the back. Arthur didn't move, but he couldn't deny that it felt a little like a huge stone had been lifted off his chest.

"What happened?" Gwaine asked.

Merlin shared a quirky smile. "They may be immortal," he said, "but it turns out they can be knocked unconscious. It just takes a while. And then I had to try and wipe their memory, but I know I messed it up—I've never done that before."

"You had us frightened, Merlin," said Gaius, but he had that look on his face that always managed to convey approval without him having to smile.

"Sorry," said Merlin, casting a short glance at Arthur to see if he had been worried as well. But the prince just stared at him with a blank look, almost as if he didn't recognize his servant, and that stung a bit. "Well, where are we going to stay, then?" Merlin asked. "We can hardly go back. Morgana will probably search for us there."

"She definitely will," Arthur said, turning away and looking up at the top of the cliff. "I think I know where we can stay."

"Where?" asked Elyan.

"Tomorrow," Arthur commanded. "We'll go there tomorrow. It's too late to start walking there now." His eyes flickered over to Merlin. He waited to see if Merlin would correct him, order him, tell the entire group what to do. But Merlin just nodded, accepting Arthur's power without a second thought, and that offered the prince a small amount of relief.

"For tonight, we'll have to sleep outside then," Elyan said.

"That's what the blankets are good for," said Gwaine jovially, for he seemed to have recovered his usual good nature. He moved away from Merlin.

Merlin's eyes moved to the top of the rocks too, trying to see what Arthur found so interesting up there. But there was nothing to look at except sky.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

The vase sailed through the air in a graceful arc before crashing into the stone wall, shattering and raining down on the floor, where the shards broke into even tinier pieces. Gwen followed the glass piece's flight with her eyes, trying to focus just on that broken vase. Otherwise she might cry.

"What do you mean, he's _alive_?" Morgana's rhetorical question thundered through the air, shaking the windows with her uncontrolled magic. Gwen had never seen her mistress so terrifying before—her eyes were narrow, her nostrils flared; her decorum and clothes were forgotten, and Morgana didn't care how she looked. She just cared about her anger, the anger that Gwen could feel crackling overhead.

Distantly Gwen hoped that she didn't get struck by some artificial lightning.

_He's alive. Arthur's alive. _

She could've sworn her heart hadn't beaten once since she'd gotten the news that he had probably perished, but now she was alive again, and she thought she could jump out of her skin for joy. But she couldn't. Morgana would see. Morgause would see. She stayed still and unaffected behind the throne, blinking her eyes dry.

"Morgause!" Morgana practically roared, turning to face her sister. "He's alive! They said he was dead! You said…"

"Obviously Merlin was more resourceful than I thought. We were mistaken, sister," said Morgause nearly emotionlessly. "We will have to amend that."

Gwen's heart squeezed and cried out in pain. Arthur!

"They must both be dead!" Morgana insisted, only a trifle calmed by her sister's "soothing" voice. She turned her glare to the two soldiers who brought the news; they were standing at the end of the throne room, looking like they'd really rather be somewhere else.

"You had them right in your grasp!" she reprimanded. "And you let them go!"

The two soldiers silently drew back from the venom in her voice. They weren't at all feeling up to standing before her verbal attack and flying vases. They'd awoken with blinding headaches and only the vaguest memory of what had occurred. And it seemed to them that there was some important part of their confrontation with the refugees that they had forgotten to inform their queen of, but for the life of them they couldn't think of what it might be.

Both of their heads really, _really_ hurt.

The one on the right, who had been a brutish and rough man back when he'd still been able to have his own personality, was wishing he didn't have to listen to her shrieking. The one on the left, who'd been an efficient man who went into battle with his whole heart back before he'd become immortal, was regretting that he hadn't finished off the queen's enemies and been done with this.

"How do a few running men manage to overpower two _immortal_ guards?" she demanded.

_Because, _thought Gwen with pride. _They're Merlin and Arthur. _She had to work not to smile. She'd been schooling her expression a lot since she told Morgana that she was still the queen's loyal maid.

The guards glanced nervously at each other, wondering if she wanted an answer.

She didn't. Morgana reached for another object – a goblet full of wine – to throw. "Just get out!" she screamed. "_Leave_!" She hurled the drink. It spun through the air, dark red liquid splattering out onto the wall and floor.

The two men made a hasty retreat.

Morgana turned her back on the door, tears of frustration beginning to stream from her eyes.

"Sister!" Morgause cried concernedly, rushing across the room to the dark haired woman's side. "We will find them!"

"I worked so hard for this!" Morgana declared. "I will not lose my place to my idiot half-brother! I will not! _I worked too hard for this_!"

Morgause gestured for Gwen to bring some water for the distraught queen. It took the maid several seconds to compute the order, because she was staring at her old friend with disbelief.

When Morgause gestured again, Gwen brought the water, but her mind was elsewhere.

_Why you selfish witch, _she suddenly thought to herself, as amazed at her own ideas as she was at Morgana's behavior. She'd never hated anyone before – not even Uther – but some eerily similar feeling was climbing up her throat. _You selfish witch. Don't you know I've cried myself to sleep every night since I realized what was happening? Didn't you know I couldn't breathe right for worry? _

No, of course she didn't know. If she'd known, then she would not have let Gwen keep working for her.

But she'd been Gwen's _friend_.

The maid took the water to the queen, bowed her head, and kept her opinions to herself.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Merlin sat bolt upright in his blanket.

The stars were shining coldly above him, the moon was high in the sky, the rest of his group was sleeping around him, and something wasn't right.

There it was again. The sound that had woken him in the middle of the night.

A footstep where no footstep belonged.

"_Ar_—"

"I hear it," hissed a voice through the darkness, and when he squinted Merlin could see Arthur's dark shape kneeling in his own blanket. "Shh!"

"Where's Gwaine; he's on w—"

"_Quiet_!"

Merlin didn't need Arthur's order though; he shut up by himself. Partly because he heard the something in the woods crack, and partly because he spotted Gwaine. The man was behind a tree, his sword drawn, waiting for the steps to get just a little closer.

_Not another immortal soldier, _Merlin prayed. He saw two shapes in the darkness now, ones he didn't recognize, and he scrambled to his feet, ready to fight. Arthur was up too, prepared. Elyan was just starting to awake, though, and Gaius still snored.

"Who's there?" came a rough whisper that Merlin dimly placed as familiar.

"Who's _there_?" answered Arthur immediately, not bothering to lower his voice.

A moment of silence. "…Prince Arthur?"

Merlin placed the voice. "_Lancelot_?"

"_Merlin_?"

Gwaine was confused and blind without any light. "Who's this?"

"Who're you?"

"What's going on?" Elyan sat up groggily, looking around. "Why's Gwaine's sword out?"

"Who's with you, Lancelot?" asked Arthur suspiciously.

"Who's Lancelot?" demanded Gwaine.

"This is Percival."

"_Who_?" Arthur, Merlin, and Gwaine said that last one simultaneously, and then a small, awkward silence descended upon the group.

At last Lancelot broke it. "If I could just see anything…"

"I could make a light…?" Merlin suggested.

"You'll alert anyone who's watching that we're right here," Arthur disagreed. "Lancelot, how did you find us? Why are you here?"

"We thought we heard movement and came to inspect it… But I think now it was just snoring. I came as soon as I heard that the Lady Morgana had taken the throne. I heard you were dead, Arthur, and Merlin with you. I wanted to see what I could do… Percival, my friend, came too. He helped me out a while back," he said, as though that explained why Percival was still with him now.

A bit of amusement crept into Merlin's voice. "I'll shake your hand as soon as I can see you, Percival," he said.

"Shut up, _sorcerer_."

Gwaine growled disapprovingly, and the voice that issued from the shape that was Lancelot sounded surprised when it said, "Arthur knows?"

Arthur heard it loud and clear. "_He_ knows?"

"Erm…" Merlin blushed but no one could see him. "Look, maybe we all… just… should all just wait until it's morning and we can see each other before we really get into…"

He was saved from further jabbering when Gaius suddenly sat up.

"If everyone here is quite sure there are no enemies in the immediate vicinity, perhaps then you would consider ceasing this noise and letting an old man get his sleep!"

There was stunned silence, but as the old man in question went back to sleep, Gwaine and Merlin managed to recover enough to chuckle.

"He's right," Arthur said firmly. "We'll sleep now and discuss everything in the morning. But we _will_ discuss it." He got back in his blanket and very pointedly went to sleep.

"I'll keep watch," offered Lancelot, but Gwaine waved that away as he put his sword back up.

"I've got this watch," he said. "You and your friend put any supplies you've got there and sleep for now."

They did so, and Merlin got into his own blanket. The silence once more took over, punctuated only by the breathing of the various men. Merlin couldn't help but give a little smile into the darkness. Everything would be sorted out in the morning, and perhaps their chances of getting out of this alive had just been upped. But for now he would just worry about getting back to sleep.

And throughout the entire exchange the large lump in the darkness that apparently went by the name of Percival said not a word.

**End of Part One**

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _Well, I certainly hope you people aren't losing interest, because part two is where things (hopefully) get exciting! Please review and tell me what you think of this chapter!_ _Again, sorry for any mistakes._

_~Kitty O of Awesomeness, PBO_


	5. MidWord

**Title:** Assassins

**Author:** Kitty O

**Rating:** T

* * *

><p><strong>Part Two: Rebels<strong>

**Chapter Five: Mid-Word**

Hunith sat heavily in her chair, her face drawn and lined, feeling older than she actually was. The morning sunlight streamed in through her rough window and fell across her face, making her squint her eyes. She hadn't really sat down for days, because sitting down was like idleness, and when she was idle she had to think.

She'd been trying not to think.

The old king was dead. As for a new king, she wasn't sure who would get the throne—Cenred had no children. No legitimate ones, anyway. It probably wouldn't affect Ealdor too much, anyway, unless the new monarch ended up raising taxes or something. That wasn't what was really worrying her; no, Hunith was much more concerned about what was going on in the neighboring kingdom, Camelot.

She'd heard that it had fallen. That the king was either dead or soon to be, and the word whispered to her was that the prince had been killed by his sister, the Lady – no, Queen – Morgana.

The Lady Morgana. How that shocked Hunith. She remembered Morgana well, as a spirited, beautiful young woman who'd been very polite and seemed to care for Merlin a great deal. But she was obviously different now… Had Merlin known? He'd never mentioned it in a letter. Of course, it had been a while since his last letter.

Now she'd killed the prince? Hunith remembered the prince too, a good man, perhaps a little arrogant… but he'd liked Merlin, and that counted for a lot in Hunith's books.

And then what was really worrying her.

If Arthur was dead, where was Merlin? If the prince's manservant was with him when he was killed, she could only assume that the manservant would be killed too, because Merlin wouldn't run away if Arthur needed him. She knew her son. But if the manservant was killed, then chances are no one would consider it important enough to repeat, and so she wouldn't have heard.

Was her son dead?

A sob caught in her throat, but she couldn't force the painful lump out.

If only she just _knew_. If she knew how Merlin was, and didn't have to guess. If he was alive, she would celebrate, and if he was not, she would mourn, but even grief could not be as terrible as this _not knowing_. Not knowing if her child, her baby, her only son was dead, injured, imprisoned…

It was torture.

And meanwhile she just had to wait and pray and worry about taxes, and that was it. She wished she could help. But she didn't know.

_Merlin,_ she thought, burying her face in her hands and wishing she could get the tears out before they choked her to death, _be safe. Please, my son, be safe._

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Merlin shot a glance behind him, like he'd been doing since they started walking. There was still no one following them.

"So in order to accomplish our plan to win back the castle, we have to get inside the castle first?" asked Lancelot with some confusion.

Arthur, who was walking a bit ahead, tossed his words casually over his shoulder. "The problem is getting to the castle. Most of us know our way around. The real problem is that Morgana has an entire unkillable army backing her, and we don't want to get killed by them."

Lancelot looked to Merlin, who was walking beside him. "We're not actually sure how to get rid of them, or if we even can, so we're getting as much power as possible behind us."

Lancelot looked around, his eyes meeting Gwaine's. "That doesn't exactly sound foolproof."

"It's not," Gwaine grinned. "Probably the best part about it."

Looking away, Lancelot mumbled, "How comforting." He'd met plenty of men like Gwaine in his time—cocky, wild, looking for adventure and fun. He was surprised that someone like that would want to stick around in such a dire situation.

_Can't judge him till I know him. _

Percival's eyes, however, seemed to sparkle a bit at Gwaine's words. Gwaine felt himself warm to the man. He'd only said a few words since he woke up, but the drunk could tell that the big man had a sense of humor. And Gwaine had great respect for people with senses of humor. People without senses of humor didn't know how to laugh at themselves, and so were very dangerous. Morgana had probably never laughed out loud, from what he'd seen of her.

"Where are we going?" Elyan asked. He was lingering near the back with Gaius.

"An old castle," said Arthur. "It belonged to the ancient kings."

Merlin sighed. "Never comfortable unless you're in a castle, are you, Sire?"

Arthur sent him a small glare. "It's safe, and no one will look there for us."

"Why not?" asked Elyan. "If you think of it, why won't Morgana?" Lancelot already liked Elyan, and not just because he was Gwen's brother and he was hoping that Elyan would like him. The dark-skinned man seemed to be very intelligent, and he had sharp eyes that probably took in every leaf of every tree. He was a traveling man, he'd said, and a fighter. Lancelot believed it.

Arthur stopped long enough to turn around. It was too hard talking to everyone while he was in the front. "As the prince of Camelot," he explained, trying to sound patient, "I had education that Morgana never received. And I _think_ I know this land better than Morgause." _Unless she has someone who knows things to advise her. _But the only people Arthur could think of who could do that would be the knights… And she'd never get their loyalty.

And Merlin could never have magic.

_Oh, shut up. _

Seeing that everyone was nodding in understanding, Arthur turned back around, but not without a perfunctory little glare in Merlin's direction. "They aren't following us, sorcerer," he said.

"I know," said Merlin, and then checked behind his shoulder again. _Sorcerer. _He hoped that word wasn't becoming a habit for Arthur, the way _idiot_ had. It barely stung anymore, but it was hardly affectionate. He much preferred idiot.

Lancelot waited until Arthur was walking again before he turned to Merlin and said in a low voice, "So… you told him."

"Yes," Merlin concurred, tripping over a tree root. Lancelot steadied him.

"I see he didn't take it too well." Lancelot made an effort not to let his eyes linger on the vivid bruise on Merlin's face. He wasn't going to draw any conclusions.

"Whatever tipped you off?" asked Gwaine, not bothering to lower his voice. He was still angry at Arthur and he wasn't hiding it.

Merlin shrugged. "He's been rather… stressed out. Morgana and everything."

Gwaine rolled his eyes.

Lancelot looked disapproving – not that it mattered; Arthur couldn't see. "Did you tell him all the things you've…?"

"Not yet," said Merlin quickly. "Not right now. He's got too much on his shoulders." A pause. "I don't want to pile on more surprises."

Gwaine grunted as he pulled the supplies on his back up higher to make them easier to bear. "Merlin, mate, you forgive too easily."

Merlin didn't respond to that, but he didn't look at Gwaine either.

Up ahead, Arthur still walked silently. They couldn't see his face, but the tension showed in the way he held himself. There was the look of a man who was trying desperately to hold together. And in pain, too. Merlin had offered to try and heal that leg again, with his book this time (Arthur had looked sick at the realization that Merlin had a book on magic), but Arthur had rebuffed the offer with some distaste in his tone. So Gaius had treated the wound in his leg before they picked up the crude camp, and declared that he was doing better than could be expected, but that Arthur still should stay still and not walk.

"_I don't have a choice,"_ Arthur had told Gaius, and the finality of his words struck something in Merlin. Yes, they all seemed to be out of choices about now.

"How much farther is it, Sire?" Gaius called from the back.

"A while, I'm sorry, Gaius," Arthur replied, thinking that the physician in his old age needed a break. "We really shouldn't stop."

"Sire, your leg."

Arthur looked down but kept walking. "We don't have time. I'll be fine, Gaius."

Gaius turned exasperated eyes to his ward, and Merlin nodded in understanding. Walking away from Lancelot and Gwaine, he approached his master and put his hand on Arthur's shoulder. Arthur shrugged him off but stopped.

Merlin leaned forward and said something in a low voice to Arthur. The prince shook his head, but Merlin repeated himself with more force, and then tagged something on the end that looked like a threat. Arthur's eyes went wide momentarily, and then he turned away and nodded.

"We'll take a break," he announced to everyone. "But only for a few minutes. We need to get there so that we can finalize plans."

"Of course, Sire," said Gaius. "Let me look at your leg while we rest, though."

Arthur shrugged in surrender and sat against a tree, his back supported by the rough bark. He stared ahead, the lines around his eyes revealing the pain he was trying to hide. Merlin tried to say something else to him, but Arthur looked away, so Merlin wandered back to the ex-knight and once-noble.

Arthur watched him go with shadowed eyes. He'd heard them talking before. He couldn't hear every word, but he heard enough. He knew Lancelot and Gwaine didn't approve of the way he'd decided to deal with this. But they didn't understand. Magic was evil; he had seen so with his own eyes. But Merlin wasn't. And it didn't make sense, and it made his head hurt. If he'd been someone else, he might have cried. But he wasn't; he was Arthur, no one else, and he only had his own mind to help him make this decision.

_It's my decision and I will make it, and if they don't agree with it, that's their decision. _

Whatever he decided, it wouldn't be because of what someone else thought.

But right now, he thought woozily, he'd really rather sleep than decide anything. He wasn't feeling well. His leg was on fire. His head was pounding and his stomach felt funny.

Gaius was making his way over to him, but was it just Arthur or was he moving awfully slowly?

"Gaius—" he mumbled, squinted. Oh, no, everything was spinning. That was bad. He'd felt badly from the start this morning, but he hadn't gotten any worse… He couldn't! They needed him to get to the ancient kings' castle.

Gaius's mouth was open; he was speaking, and Arthur thought that was his name coming out the man's mouth. But he couldn't hear it. Blood was rushing in Arthur's ears. Gaius was getting taller. No, wait, Arthur was getting shorter.

"Gai—" He stopped mid-word.

He just had time to think, _oh, this will look impressive, _before he slumped forward away from the tree, unconscious.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Leon crouched against the side of his cell, out of sight of the door. No one could see him unless they squinted really hard in the darkness and had their face tilted at just the right angle. It was the best he was going to get.

Another escape plan underway.

He just had to wait until another guard came in to get him, and then he would jump, and if he was quick about it he could be out of this cell before he could say, "Morgause is a witch."

He'd already been waiting for minutes, and his legs were cramping, but he didn't let himself relax. That's how his plan had come to naught last time.

Suddenly the door creaked open, and he tensed.

There. The guard was coming. He could see the man's foot… _Wait till you see the body… _The knee, the leg… _wait for the body. _

There!

Something familiar to Leon rushed through him, some intangible feeling that he called his battle reflex. He sprang to his feet and crashed into the guard—realizing as he flew through the air that there was not one, but two guards.

_No, _he moaned in his head even as he knocked the first man into the ground, knowing he'd lost.

He tried to get back on his feet, but another man's fist sank into his stomach, and all the breath flew out of the wavy-haired knight. His already round eyes bulged out more, but he tried to turn and face his attacker. Another punch to the jaw kept him back.

He recovered and landed a blow of his own, but there was no time, and they outnumbered him.

Hands grabbed onto his arm and held him back as the other guard sank a fist into his stomach again. Leon choked. A blow landed on his face. Bright colors lit up the dank cell as his head swung to the side, and he couldn't see. A shove pushed him back, and there were hands holding him back everywhere he fidgeted. He couldn't move.

Another escape plan failed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_I got an anonymous review last chapter saying that they thought Merlin was rather out of character because he was putting up with Arthur calling him "sorcerer" all the time. In case anyone else was wondering, I thought I'd say my reasoning for how Merlin's acting. Merlin puts up with a lot of stuff he really shouldn't have too. And I really don't think that the man who didn't complain when Arthur arrested him multiple times or told him not to cry over his own father or… when Arthur did all those other not-nice things would feel the need to complain about "sorcerer". Besides, he knows Arthur's thinking about as hard as his little brain can. And he's probably a little scared of being rejected, so he doesn't want to push it. _

_That's my interpretation of Merlin's character anyway. That, and they really don't have time to be fighting over this. _

_As for this chapter, may I just say that Arthur fainting was SO not planned? I guess he was REALLY feeling badly…_

_I'll probably reach 100 reviews with this chapter or the next one, so thank you in advance! It's so happy-fying! _

_~Kitty O of Awesomeness, PBO_


	6. MidThought

**Title:** Assassins

**Author:** Kitty O

**Rating:** T

* * *

><p><strong>Part Two: Rebels<strong>

**Chapter Six: Mid-Thought**

When Arthur made it clear he didn't want to talk, Merlin shrugged inwardly and wandered back over to Lancelot and Gwaine, both of whom looked faintly impressed that he had managed to get Arthur to stop.

"What did you tell him?" asked Gwaine, who was secretly hoping he'd threatened to turn the prince into a squirrel.

Merlin smiled as though he knew what Gwaine was thinking. "I just told him that if he didn't take care of his leg, he'd lose it. And he wouldn't have much chance of saving Camelot if he couldn't even walk."

"What happened to his leg?" asked Lancelot, looking past Merlin.

"An arrow from one of Cenred's men," said Merlin.

Gaius walked past Merlin with a grateful look and went over to Arthur. "Gaius—" they heard Arthur mumble.

There was a moment of silence between the three, and then Lancelot tried to return to the earlier topic of conversation. "But don't you think calling you 'sorcerer' is going a bit—"

Merlin shrugged, cutting him off. "He's still trying to accept it. He's starting to, I think; he's less angry about it now, anyway."

"Really?" said Gwaine, pointedly not looking at Arthur. "Then you're seeing something I don't."

Lancelot looked like he was about to insert a comment, but finally Merlin decided he'd had enough and didn't want to go into this any further. "Look, I don't really want to talk about it…"

_"Merlin!"_

Merlin turned around at Gaius's voice, his eyes alighting at once on Arthur's slumped form.

"What happened?" he asked, concern coloring his voice at once, and all bitterness or anger melting right out of his tone. He, along with the rest of the group, started forward.

Merlin beat the rest to the tree where Arthur lay unconscious, kneeling next to Gaius, who was leaning over the prince and checking his pulse.

"He's unconscious," affirmed Gaius, as though everyone hadn't already figured that much out.

"Why?" asked Merlin.

Gaius rolled up Arthur's pants' leg so he could see the wound better, and gave a small sound almost like a sympathetic sigh. The rip in Arthur's flesh was puffy and pink, heat radiating off of it.

"He walked on that?" commented Elyan, wincing.

"Too much pride to do anything else, I guess," Merlin growled, his face dark. He wanted to call Arthur a prat or a dollophead, but somehow this didn't seem the time. "He could've passed out from pain alone. Gaius, let me."

Gaius looked surprised. "He doesn't wish…"

"I know, but since when do I listen to him anyway?"

Gaius nodded and backed away, allowing Merlin room. The warlock slung his pack off his shoulder and dug through it, at last pulling out a ratty old book. Placing the book's spine on a root, he began to flip through it, breathing heavily. Much as he tried to tell himself that he was safe, Merlin couldn't quite forget that he was looking in a spell book with all these people watching him like he was some sort of oddity. _This is more people than have ever watched me do magic in my life, _he noted, swallowing.

"Something for the poison and infection…" he mumbled. "Ah…" Raising a hand and pointing his palm towards the prince's leg, Merlin read, _"Gwella haint, gwenwyn."_

His eyes lit up golden, shimmering slightly, and everyone around had the feeling that power was rolling off of him in waves. A sparkle of that power seemed to take up residence in Arthur's leg, because there was a shine, and the air seemed to give a faint whine—and then the magic faded. The wound was still there, but (and it could have been their collective imagination) it looked slightly less swollen.

Merlin went back to flipping through the book. Percival wondered to himself if they should really be standing around letting this man use magic on the prince. Wasn't that supposed to be illegal here?

"Here," said Merlin, pointing to a page in his book. Thank goodness this book had everything.

"_Gwella torri,"_ he told the injury quite sternly, eyes flashing again.

A small light erupted from within the cut, searing it from the inside out—Arthur jerked and grunted without waking up, his face creasing. The flesh seemed to bubble and fizzle, and Merlin grimaced in disgust. But after a moment the skin on Arthur's leg smoothed out, and so did Arthur's face.

There was no longer any injury.

Merlin smiled triumphantly and picked the book up again, stuffing it back into his bag. When he looked back up, Arthur's eyes were open and staring right at him. Unthinkingly, Merlin grinned, but Arthur's eyebrows drew together.

"My leg," he said. "It doesn't hurt."

"Good," said Merlin.

Arthur launched himself into a sitting position, eyes wide. His hand went straight to his bare leg, feeling for the injury that wasn't there. Everything seemed to click into place as he stared at his leg for several seconds.

Then he raised his head and looked in Merlin's eyes again.

Merlin had to keep himself from reeling back. He wasn't sure how he was expecting Arthur to look… grateful? Happy? Forgiving? Whatever it was he'd thought he would see on his master's face, this wasn't it.

Arthur would probably deny it, but the look in his eyes right then was fear. And it was aimed at Merlin.

"You healed me."

"Good thing he did too," interrupted Gwaine, alerting them to the fact that the rest of the group was still there. "That injury did not look pleasant."

Arthur stared at them for a second, his face suddenly unreadable. "You all let him?"

"Of course," said Gwaine with a slightly threatening smile.

"You passed out, Sire," said Gaius, leaning forward. "The injury would have worsened if Merlin hadn't used his magic."

"Right." And still looking frustratingly unreadable, Arthur took one last glance at Merlin's bruised face and climbed to his feet. "We should…" He swallowed. "We should keep walking then. We can be there before it gets dark if we don't waste time."

Merlin looked to Gaius and jerked his head in Arthur's direction, as though to ask, "What's that all about?"

Gaius raised his eyebrows to convey to Merlin that he didn't know.

Merlin stood up from his crouch and helped the old man to his feet. Arthur was already walking, at least ten paces ahead and not looking back. After looking awkwardly around a bit, Percival and Elyan decided they'd better go ahead and follow. The rest came after, Merlin making a very confused and slightly offended tail of the line.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Leon was back in his cell, and he was glad of it.

He didn't have a bed, so instead he was huddled against the edge, right under the window, using his cloak as best he could for bedding. His head hurt, so he placed it on the dirty, cold floor, but it didn't hurt.

Forget his head, he was sore all over.

He was finding being in his cell was better than being taken out of it. Those guards were rough.

And Morgana was so annoyingly insistent that he swear loyalty.

_Smirk at me all you want, _he thought, _but it won't help. _

He'd sworn loyalty to the king and the prince, and he'd meant it too. No matter how cold or uncomfortable he was, he wouldn't go back on that. Neither would the other knights. He wished he knew how they were doing. Were they all in separate cells, or was he just here because he was Arthur's second-in-command?

Leon had no answers, so instead he tried desperately to go to sleep. He would feel better when he awoke, he hoped.

He wasn't having much luck, so he found himself thinking instead.

How was this all going to end? Would the prince return? Morgana had tried to assure him that Arthur was dead, but Leon could read the lie in her face, and from the snatches of conversation he'd heard, that was a lie that no one really believed. Would Arthur come and let them all out of the dungeons, save his father and his kingdom? Or would Arthur get killed? Would Uther then be executed? Would Morgana win and Leon eventually die for his stubbornness and then fade away into history?

He didn't know, but it made his head hurt worse to think of it.

And finally, mid-thought, he fell asleep.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

"If there's one thing the land around here doesn't lack, it's castles," remarked Merlin to himself hours later as they stepped over the stone threshold and into the cold, drafty castle.

"Not as many taverns as I'd like, though," said Gwaine, and then winked to let Merlin know he was (mostly) joking. Merlin cracked a smile and moved on the follow the group.

Arthur had led them into a dark, dank room. It was larger than the throne room back in Camelot's castle, but spider webs and junk seemed to fill every corner. Merlin let his eyes flash gold and lit the torches on the wall, pretending that he didn't see Arthur give him a disapproving look.

"Look around," said Arthur. "See what you can find."

Everyone followed his orders and scattered throughout the room, but Arthur made his way to a large lump near the fireplace, covered in a sheet. He had a feeling he knew what that was.

"What is that?" asked Percival when Arthur put his hands on the cloth and stared at the smooth shape.

Arthur looked up. "This?"

He yanked the cloth, and in cascade of dirt, the sheet flew from the top of the object and fell to the ground. "It's a table," said Arthur. "The Round Table."

From the way he said that, it was clear that he thought the words 'Round Table' held a lot of meaning, the way someone would say the name of a childhood bedtime story or the first line of a song mothers sang to themselves. But before Percival could ask for more information, the other knights converged around them.

Merlin went to light the large fireplace so that everyone could see each other easier.

"Weapons," announced Gwaine gleefully as he put an axe down on the table.

"Bandits must have stayed here at some point," Elyan decided.

"Most of them looked rusted or otherwise damaged, though," noted Lancelot, and Gwaine nodded.

"It must have been a while ago," he agreed. "But we can make use of a few of them."

Arthur looked over the weapons and nodded, but then returned his attention to the table.

"What's this?" asked Elyan.

Arthur stroked his hand against the wood. "It's part of a story—a legend, almost, of the ancient kings. The round table. No man sat at the head because no man was more important than the others."

He stared at the table for another moment, and everyone was quiet, watching him.

"Sounds a little like us at the moment," reflected Merlin, and Arthur looked at him as though he thought Merlin might be reading his thoughts. But after a moment, he nodded.

"Yes, it does," he agreed. "All fighting together, equally."

"But you're the prince," objected Lancelot.

Arthur looked at him and gave a tiny smile. "Not at the moment," he said. "And if not for you knights, I never would be again."

"Knights?"

Arthur nodded at Elyan. "I can't think of a better word for people who help defend Camelot at a time as bleak as this, with no guarantee of winning."

"But we're not knights," pointed out Lancelot.

Arthur nodded again, but this time to himself, as if he'd made up his mind about something. He looked away from the table, straightened his back, and said, "You can be."

Silence met this pronouncement, and so Arthur said, "If you want to be recognized as knights, you can be." He looked at each of them in turn, helping his offer to sink in. "Do you want that?"

The dark air, filled only with the crackling of the fire Merlin had created, was tense enough to snap—and then Lancelot spoke, firelight dancing on his face. "To be a knight of Camelot would be an honor," he told the prince.

Everyone seemed to agree. "I suppose," said Gwaine with a serious expression, "if I'm going to risk my life, I might as well get something out of it. A knighthood is good."

Arthur looked at Merlin. "It won't take long," he said, "and then we can go back to deciding what to do with your plan."

Merlin was all for it, and he looked proud as he told Arthur, "The Knights of the Round Table has a nice ring to it."

And Arthur gave him the most authentic smile he'd worn since he saw Morgana with his father's crown on her head.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**_ Thanks for all the reviews last chapter, guys, and sorry I took a while to post this chapter… It's all the fault of season 4! Anyway, thank you and please tell me what you thought. _

_~Kitty O of Awesomeness, PBO_


	7. Midnight

**Title:** Assassins

**Author:** Kitty O

**Rating:** T

* * *

><p><strong>Part Two: Rebels<strong>

**Chapter Seven: Midnight**

It didn't take very long. Just a few minutes or so: the men knelt down, Arthur said a few words and touched them with the flat of his blade, and they arose as knights.

But it was a lot more sobering than it sounded… A lot more serious. Perhaps especially for Gwaine.

_This is a commitment you can't go back on, _warned a voice in his head that he imagined sounded a lot like his father would have, had he ever known the man. But he didn't shy away. He could handle it. He could handle anything.

_But this might cut down on the taverns and wenches. _

As for Lancelot, he was feeling happier than he had in quite a while. He could honestly say that he thought he was the only man alive to be knighted not once, but twice. And this time there were no lies behind it; it was a true knighting that could not be taken back.

He had to force himself to not smile. He didn't look to the side to see how Gwaine and Elyan and Percival were taking this. It wasn't important. What was important was that he was becoming a knight, fulfilling his dream.

Elyan was almost giddy, but trying hard to hide it.

And as for Percival, he was thinking that this was going a bit too fast for him, and he'd only arrived yesterday with no intention of being knighted, and now he was swearing his loyalty to the blond prince. He wasn't averse to it – on the contrary, he could feel pride swelling up in his chest – but he was feeling a bit overwhelmed.

And so they were knighted.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

The idea had been to head back to Camelot, wait until dark finished falling, and sneak into the vaults—which Merlin assured everyone would be a lot easier than they thought. Morgana and Morgause, new to ruling Camelot, would doubtless be cautious in case of personal attacks, but even if they did have guards on the vaults, Merlin could probably get past them.

"If Morgana could get the Crystal of Neatid, we can get in too," explained Merlin.

"Wait—Morgana stole that?" Arthur exclaimed, his eyebrows rising.

Merlin winced and laughed nervously.

In the end it took a lot longer to get started, and not just because of that interruption. It seemed Arthur was under the impression that he was coming too.

"Of course I'm coming!"

Merlin shook his head, sitting very deliberately down in a chair at the Round Table. "You shouldn't," he said, trying to sound firm but unassuming and failing. He knew he looked very unimpressive next to an enraged Prince Arthur, but all the same he wasn't budging.

"That's ridiculous," scoffed Arthur. "It's my throne we're fighting for, and I will not stay behind."

"Your leg," Merlin replied.

Arthur crossed his arms. "It's healed, since you decided to disregard my orders. So you can't use that excuse."

"I've never done anything like that before," Merlin argued stubbornly. "Besides, it probably didn't get all the poison out. It might not even be completely healed—it might just look like it from the outside."

Arthur met Merlin's eyes and glared. That was bull, and Merlin knew it. Leaning forward, his palms resting gingerly on the old table, Arthur got in his face and growled, "Listen, _sorcerer_." Merlin leaned back a little, and Gwaine started forward, his face tight with anger. Arthur's name was halfway out his mouth, but Merlin held up a hand, ordering him to cease.

Gwaine stopped, but lingered near, next to Lancelot and the rest, ready to jump in any second.

Arthur ignored the newly knighted Sir Gwaine and went on, "I am the prince, I'm in charge, and I am going to go on this very important mission to take back my home."

"How would you even know a magical artifact if you saw—"

"_I'm going_." Arthur was nearly baring his teeth. His eyes flickered away from Merlin's, just for a second, and landed on the bruise where he'd hit his servant with every bit of power he'd had in his body. Quickly, his eyes flew back to meet Merlin's.

"You're the prince!" Merlin responded in what could best be described as a very controlled shout. He shot to his feet, forcing Arthur to step back. "If they catch you, or kill you, that's it. It's over. And this is just the beginning, Arthur. Do you want to be defeated before we even start? I'm not trying to keep you out of the action. There will _be_ no action unless everything goes seriously wrong."

Percival decided that this was a conversation probably best handled in private, and he walked towards the back of the room, taking Elyan with him for someone to talk to. Gwaine didn't look like he was budging, and Lancelot seemed to be standing guard over him.

"I don't care, I will be there."

Arthur wasn't going to accept no for an answer, but Merlin wasn't going to give a yes. The thought of Arthur walking right into Camelot under Morgana's nose, not even ready for a fight, caused him to break out in a cold sweat.

So he sighed, and said, "Fine." Looking at Gaius, he asked, "Do you have it?"

Arthur's head swiveled to face the physician, who was digging in his brown pouch for something. "What?" he asked, at once uneasy.

"I do," Gaius told Merlin, drawing a small stoppered vial filled with some clear substance. He shook it slightly, and Arthur stared at it for a second, uncomprehending.

And then he got it.

"You wouldn't dare," he said slowly, turning back to Merlin.

Merlin was still staring him down, but suddenly his lip twitched, just slightly, and it was enough to ruin the effect. "Arthur, I've been illegally using magic in Camelot to save it for years." He didn't add it, but his meaning was clear. _There's very little I wouldn't dare do. _He might as well have said it, but he never was the sort to brag.

Arthur glanced back at Gaius. He knew the physician would dare. After all, he'd done it before, when Arthur was going to face the Black Knight. He very nearly said, "You can't make me," but he knew very well that they could.

His eyes narrowed in anger at Mer—the sorcerer. The sorcerer who was trying to take command. His command.

He looked towards the knights. Gwaine was smiling, which was not comforting on a man who had technically just sworn allegiance to him. He had a feeling he might be regretting that someday.

"Fine," he said, surrendering. He didn't have a choice, really.

But he didn't have to be happy about it.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

"And give him something do while we're gone," said Merlin to Gaius, lingering behind. Everyone else was waiting outside. Arthur was sulking somewhere within. "Plan or something—otherwise he might try to sneak after us."

Gaius nodded. "Be careful, Merlin."

"Aren't I always?"

Gaius tried to smile at that, but he looked worried nonetheless.

"Don't worry," Merlin told him with a quick hug. "We should be back by morning."

"And if you aren't?"

"We will be," Merlin told him.

Then he offered one last smile and turned away to go out after the others. He didn't look back to see the frown creasing Gaius's forehead. After all, he would be back in a matter of hours.

"Let's go," he said to the others, and they all obliged, beginning to walk, trying to go quietly even though there was probably no need just yet. Everyone kept a sharp eye out, except Merlin, who was staring at his boots with some unreadable emotion etched on his face.

"What is it?" asked Elyan at last, not feeling like he had any business asking, but still feeling that he'd like to know.

"What?" Merlin looked up and flashed his bright smile. "Nothing. I was just thinking that… I probably made Arthur that much angrier. He doesn't like being threatened."

"No one does," said Elyan, thinking of a leather-clad king. "But he'll come around."

Merlin glanced at Elyan with a sort of detached, slight surprise, with an air of acknowledging the unexpected. It was clear the knight had already "come around" despite the fact that he'd spent his whole life being told magic was evil. People were more accepting then Merlin gave them credit for sometimes. Yes, even Arthur in some ways. After all, Merlin wasn't dead yet.

"I hope so," he said at last, and after a moment addressed the group. "Before we go to the castle, I think we should make a stop."

Everyone paused. "Why didn't you mention it before?" Percival asked.

Merlin let himself grin. "Because, if I'd told Arthur about this part, he wouldn't have stayed behind at all."

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Gwen let herself sink deeper into her cot, trying to warm her body. She needed a thicker blanket. It might be too expensive at the moment; she hadn't money to spare. But maybe, since Morgana was queen now, she'd give the girl a raise.

_Probably not. _

Gwen grew bored with the train of thought and rolled onto her back, her heartache prevailing over the cold as her main focus. _Arthur. Merlin. _She hoped they were well.

The noise of her door opening shot through the dark, and something like terror spiked through her. She sat bolt upright, eyes wide. But before she could scream or leap from her bed, a hand clapped down on her mouth.

She began to struggle, but a voice stilled her.

"It's me!"

"Merlin?" she said the moment the hand was removed. "Oh, thank heavens you're all right! Where's Arthur?"

She couldn't see Merlin, exactly, just a shape in the black that was even blacker, leaning over her bed. "He couldn't come with me," the shape said. "He doesn't know I'm here."

"Is he safe?"

"He's upset, but healthy."

"Good," she said with a deep breath, her heart settling. Then a thought struck her. "Why are you here? It's dangerous!"

"I had to check on you. We hadn't heard anything about you, not even Elyan—"

"Elyan is with you?" she whispered. She hadn't seen her brother since Morgana became queen, but then she hadn't really expected to; she'd assumed he'd left town and tried not to worry too much.

"He is."

"Everyone's safe, then?"

"For now. Are you?"

"Oh, yes," Gwen told him, getting up from her bed and squinting to see him. She didn't dare light a candle. Someone might see. "I told Morgana I was loyal to her."

A pause. "And you aren't?"

Gwen drew herself up, her back straight. "I'm loyal to Arthur. I… I wish I could still be loyal to Morgana, truly, but she'd not who she one once was. She tried to kill us."

Merlin sighed. "I know. Gwen, we'll get her off the throne, I promise."

"If you need my help," she told him, "I'll gladly give it."

"Thank you, Gwen. For now, just wait and watch. Thank you… I have to go. I don't have time…"

She didn't want him to go. She wanted to hug him and shower him with motherly kisses. "I understand."

An arm slipped briefly around her, holding her close for a second. And then he was gone.

In the morning, she would wonder if she dreamed the whole thing.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

As Merlin left Gwen's house, the knights came out from the dark side alley.

"How is she?" Elyan asked. He'd wanted to go in, but there was no time. The moon shone above them, painting his brotherly face with soft light, but the rest of him was in midnight blackness.

"She's safe; she's fine. We need to move. If we come across any guards, don't let them see you. If we can't sneak past right away, I'll distract them. I think I'm the only one who knows the way to the vaults, so follow me."

So they did.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

It wasn't as hard as they feared. By keeping a sharp eye out, they managed to spot any guards before the guards spotted them, and so took a detour through a back way to avoid them.

"This castle is like a maze!" Gwaine said around the time they'd turned the twentieth time.

"Only when you don't want to be seen," said Merlin.

When the guards couldn't be avoided, they were distracted. It wasn't hard with a warlock on your side. A couple of mysterious sounds and a falling torch later, they were at the vaults.

"Uther never guarded these against magic, either, and I guess Morgana hasn't had time," said Merlin, wrapping his fist around a lock to the barred door that led in. With a single word, they melted in his hands, but there was no heat. Smiling triumphantly, he pushed the twisted gray metal aside and opened the door, walking into the dark hallway and lighting a torch or two on the wall, but keeping the light low.

Elyan looked at the rest of the knights. "You know," he said to Lancelot, "that's actually a little scary."

"Just takes getting used to," Lancelot assured him, and went in. The rest followed.

Gwaine grabbed a lit torch from the wall and held it up. "There's lots of stuff in here," he said.

"Just get what looks magical. I don't think there's anything dangerous to the touch…" Merlin looked around. He didn't know all of what was in here, but he knew a good deal.

"Is this magical?" asked Elyan, hefting the object. It was an orange stone, held by a three fingered steel claw setting.

"That's the Mage Stone," Merlin told him.

Elyan stared at it for a moment. _This is the reason my father died, _he suddenly realized, and pressed the stone into Gwaine's hand.

Merlin looked around again, trying to spot more. Some of the things they'd collected over the years would have been destroyed, of course, but the others, the ones that were valuable or indestructible, would all be here. They'd grab what they could carry… There was Catrina's enchantment necklace, and an amulet he didn't recognize, though he could feel the dangerous magic coming off it in waves. The Crystal of Neatid was probably in the other room, and though he didn't want to, they should probably grab it too so that Morgana couldn't use it.

Something rattled.

No one else heard it, just continued spreading through the room and looking around through piles of wealth and what seemed to be trash.

Merlin turned, his eyes narrowing, and immediately he saw it. A slight sound of muttering was emitting from it, a shiny, long container that Merlin happened to know was lined with lead. It was shaking back and forth, obviously trying to get the attention of the men that had come into the vaults.

Merlin stared at it for several seconds. And then a smile – a smile that was about as evil as Merlin had ever worn – spread over his face. He had to keep the chuckle back.

_If I believed in a hell, _he reflected to himself, _I'd be going to it for this. _

He lurched forward and got his hands on the container, calling back the knights, "I'll be right back!" And then, carrying it, he made for the door.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_I wanted to have this up yesterday, but alas, it didn't happen. So instead I made this chapter longer than usual. Plus, I wanted to make more interesting things happen in this chapter so that no one would get bored with me._

_So please don't! I know this story is longer than the ones I usually work on, and so are the chapters (plus it's a bit more complicated than my usual plots… Though, off tangent, I was wrong, it's actually my SECOND reveal), so all feedback is extremely helpful to me. _

_Anyway, I won't bug you any longer. Off to go crawl through the internet for a link for the next episode! _

_~Kitty O of Awesomeness_


	8. MidBreath

**Title:** Assassins

**Author:** Kitty O

**Rating:** T

* * *

><p><strong>Part Two: Rebels<strong>

**Chapter Eight: Mid-Breath**

Merlin ducked into the hallway leading to the vaults, looking around to make sure he was alone. And then he set the container down on the ground and crouched next to it, his face up close.

"Let me out!" squealed a little voice from inside. "I _promise_ I'll be good!"

Merlin smiled. Like he believed that. "Can you hear me?" he asked, his voice still a whisper.

The box went silent. And then: "I can hear you," admitted the goblin, sounding like he was pouting. "I remember you."

"Good," said Merlin. "Camelot is under a different rule now, and I've got a feeling you'd just love to get out and cause some trouble, isn't that right? I'd be willing to let you." His hand rested on top of the lead-lined box. He could feel the goblin's excitement as the container trembled.

"Yes! Yes!" cried the goblin from within with a tinny voice.

"But if I were you," warned Merlin, "I wouldn't possess anybody. Remember, I'm a warlock, but now I haven't got anyone or anything to lose." Which was a lie, he thought, his mind flitting to Gwen, to his friends around the castle, to Arthur's slowly growing acceptance of him. He had a lot to lose.

The goblin didn't need to know that. "Okay!" he squeaked. "I understand! I do!"

"Fine," said Merlin, barely keeping the smile off his face. "You ready?" He undid the clasps as the box nearly knocked itself over in the goblin's excitement.

He took the lid of.

There was a _bam _sound, like released air, as the goblin exploded out of the box, knocking Merlin onto his behind. The goblin's light flickered with joy as it flew from the box, and without even stopping to say goodbye, it zipped away. Merlin watched it go silently.

_I have a feeling that this may come back to bite me later. _

But he didn't really care. He grabbed up the box as the knights filed in behind him.

"Got everything?" he asked.

"We think so," said Lancelot with a nod.

"Let's go!" said Gwaine. His hands were full, just like everyone else's. Merlin blinked at all the magical items. Mage Stone, amulet, a medallion…

"Anything else we need?" asked Elyan.

Merlin nodded. "The Crystal of Neatid, in that room down the hall" – he pointed – "and my Sidhe staff."

"I'll get the Crystal," offered Lancelot. "You go get your staff. I'll grab the Crystal."

"Be careful with it."

"I'll go with Merlin," Gwaine said, and everyone nodded to show they approved of the plan. Then Merlin and Gwaine took off one way; the rest of the knights went the other.

Merlin looked for guards every time he turned a corner, his hands still clutched around the box. Gwaine had the Mage Stone in one hand and the still-bloodied crystals that the men had used to try to kill Arthur in the melee (he'd thought it fitting that he get those, since he'd gotten banished over them). He couldn't grab for his sword if he needed it, so Merlin would make do without a weapon at his back. He did it all the time.

Merlin ran out the vaults, up some stairs, down some more, and across the courtyard without being spotted once. Gwaine was nearly gaping at him by the end of it.

"It gets harder now," he said. "Be quick; there's a curfew, I'll bet."

They made it into the empty physician's chambers. Merlin went into his room and knelt by his bed, putting the container to the side. He couldn't see in the dark, but he didn't need to. He'd done this too many times. After a second, he stood back up with his staff.

_This will make running awkward, _he thought, staring at both of his items. He handed the box to Gwaine. "Put your stuff in the box and carry it," he told the knight. "I'm keeping my staff."

Gwaine nodded and did as he asked.

"But," added Merlin, "try not to let Arthur see you with it."

"What is it?"

"It's not important… I'll tell you later. We just probably shouldn't mention it to Arthur."

"You spend a lot of time doing things and not telling Arthur, don't you?" said Gwaine with a grin.

Merlin nodded, steadying his quick breathing. "We should meet the others."

"What are the chances we're going to get out of here without being seen?" Gwaine asked.

"Slight," Merlin admitted. Yet he had no doubt they would.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Merlin leaned against his chair, staring into the flames. The dark had swallowed everything up except the round table and him. It would be dawn before soon, he guessed, and he should really be sleeping.

He sighed heavily. He didn't feel like sleeping. Everyone else was lying in blankets around the main room, trying to sleep comfortably on stone. They were all snoring. He wasn't.

His heart hurt.

"If you don't sleep, you'll be useless tomorrow," Arthur's voice said from the darkness, and Merlin gave a gasp, interrupting him mid-breath and making him start coughing, looking like an idiot.

"You're supposed to be sleeping," he said, blinking his eyes, which stung from the heat.

"So are you," pointed out Arthur. "What are you brooding about?"

"Nothing. I mean, I'm not."

Arthur snagged one of the table's chairs and sat on it. "Right. You aren't brooding. That's why you're awake so late staring moodily into the fire."

"Why do you care?" snapped Merlin, suddenly angry that Arthur would be questioning him after he'd ignored him for the past few days.

"Are you worried your plan won't work?" asked Arthur.

"No. I feel guilty."

There was another pause. "Why?" asked the once-prince at last.

"Morgana," Merlin admitted.

"And how do you work that one out?"

"I think it's my fault," said Merlin. "It's all my fault. I should have told her that she had magic earlier, and she wouldn't have turned to Morgause. I was just so worried… Didn't want her to know about me. I kept thinking she'd tell someone, or she would use the knowledge to hurt me the next time she got mad at me." He gave a tiny smile. "I guess I figured, if she'd gotten angry enough to try and kill the man who raised her…"

"When was that?" asked Arthur, confused.

"After Tom died," Merlin said, leaning back and still staring at the fire.

"Just because you didn't tell her, that's not your f—"

"I poisoned her." Silence met this pronouncement. "Everyone was sleeping. Morgause was marching on Camelot with the knights, and Morgana was the anchor for the spell. You were about to die. You had no chance of making it out of that fight. None of Camelot did. Except Morgana." He put his head down, his voice thick with the tears that didn't come out. "I put hemlock in the water and told her to drink it. She _thanked_ me."

Arthur stared at Merlin. The servant couldn't see him, and it was lucky; that horrified expression would have sent him over the edge.

"And then she started choking. She gave me this look…" He was seeing it all again. He didn't want to see it, so he picked his head up. "Morgause called off the knights in return for the poison so that she could heal her."

"You never told me that's what happened."

"I didn't want to talk about it. Besides, what do you think the king would have done to me if he'd found out?"

"She was never kidnapped."

"No, I don't think so. She was passed out when Morgause took her away. But don't you see, if I hadn't poisoned her, she wouldn't have hated me so much… She might have listened, and I could have convinced her that Morgause was wrong. It's my fault."

"A lot of things," Arthur said, "are your fault. But I think that in this case, you can't really take all the blame. Morgana…" he paused at the name. "She's smart, and she makes her own choices. If she'd wanted to, she could have understood what you did. She decided to listen to Morgause by herself."

Merlin felt the tiniest bit of relief in his chest, cooling the pain. For a moment or two, they sat there, both looking at the fire and thinking about their own thoughts.

And then Merlin looked at Arthur and said, "This is the longest you've talked to me since I told you about my magic."

"Probably," said Arthur.

"I know it was sort of a surprise for you…" Arthur interrupted him to scoff at the understatement. "And I know it was a bad time to tell you. Everyone has always told you magic is evil."

"And it isn't, according to you."

"It depends on the wielder. And Arthur, you know I wouldn't do anything to hurt you or Camelot—"

Arthur turned to look at the warlock. "I seem to remember you using the 'magic is evil' excuse several times yourself. Or at least taking advantage of it. Morgause, for one. Remember that?"

"Ah." Merlin scratched his neck awkwardly, laughing humorlessly. "Well, I suppose I had to stretch the truth a few times. A lot. I only ever did it to—"

"You're such a liar."

Merlin raised his eyebrows, surprised. "I…"

"A liar. You lied to me so many times, didn't you? You're probably keeping some lies from me even now. Is there anything about you that's the truth? You could be someone else entirely. I wouldn't know, you keep all your lies together so well."

"Arthur, I had to lie sometimes, yes, but it was usually just to protect you. I was always going to tell you. It was just never the right time."

"I believe you."

"Really?"

"I think I do," said Arthur, sighing. "But then I keep talking myself out of it. You say you're loyal to me. But you kept everything important from me. You say magic's not evil. But I can't know. I've always seen evil magic. You say you want to help." The darkness hid the expression on his face. "How do I know you aren't working for Morgana, waiting for the right time to kill me?"

Merlin sat up in his chair, eyes wide, indignant and slightly nauseated. "I wouldn't!" he yelped, forgetting to keep his voice low. A snore from the side made him quiet himself, but he was still staring at Arthur in horror.

"But how do I know? Why should I trust you?"

"I wouldn't do that, Arthur, I swear…"

"Answer the question. How do I _know_?"

Merlin blinked. He wanted to say, "Because you should trust me," but he knew that actually, Arthur had no reason to trust him. Arthur had trusted him, and then Merlin had gone and shattered it. "You don't know."

"I don't. I keep telling myself you want to help," Arthur said. "But I don't know if I believe it. I can't trust you, sorcerer—you're a liar. And you know it. I keep telling myself I can. But then I doubt it again. I think I can trust you. And then I don't. This is too important to make a mistake. But I don't know whether the mistake would be to continue trusting you or to run you through right now."

Merlin had no answer to that.

"And I can't let this go until I know if I can trust you."

Merlin nodded as Arthur stood up.

"It's almost dawn."

"I should sleep," said Merlin, looking at the fire.

"I'll keep watch," answered Arthur. Both of them wanted to recapture the thread, the rhythm of normal conversation.

Merlin stood up, and he and Arthur moved away from the fire.

"I won't betray you, Arthur," he said at last. "Even if you don't believe it."

Arthur thought about his answer for a moment. "Morgana wasn't your fault," he told the warlock. "It was hers, not yours."

And then he went to go stand watch, and Merlin went to sleep. In the morning, had they been asked, they wouldn't have admitted to having that conversation. Not even to each other.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Morgana smiled in her sleep, but then an itchy feeling made her wince. Her dream – a nice, normal dream about killing Merlin with poison – flickered for a moment, but then she rolled over in her big bed and went back to it.

Just as Merlin was gasping his last, she felt the itch again, only more intense. She knew in her sleep that if she didn't scratch her head, she would just _die_. But that would require her to awaken.

_Ah, well, _she thought, her eyes flickering open in the gloom. She dazedly took in the soft light of the dawn coming through her window. She made an effort to move her hand – though she didn't feel like it; she was so _sleepy_ – and reached up to scratch under her hair.

But suddenly she clapped her hand to the top of her hand and sat up in bed, her eyes huge. Her hand began to slowly move around where her hair was…

Or where her hair should be. But it wasn't. She felt all around her head, just feeling smooth skin underneath her fingertips; not one strand of hair.

She was bald.  
><em><br>She was bald!_

She opened her mouth and gave a piercing shriek, so loudly that it echoed through the castle until the windows shook in their panes.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**_Well, I thought that chapter needed a light-hearted ending. Now I hope everyone understands how Arthur's feeling a bit better… Merlin does! Anyway, please review!_

_The next chapter of Restrictions and Reprimands should be up tonight. If not, then tomorrow._

_~Kitty O of Awesomeness, PBO_


	9. MidConversation

**A/N: **_In season 4 it takes 6 days to reach the Isle of the Blessed, plus a bunch of ruins and giant baby rats that feast on human flesh. __In season 1, it takes, like…__a day? Seriously, Merlin was back before anyone realized he was gone… and that he'd taken a horse. This left me with a bit of a problem. I decided to go with my plans when I started writing this thing, before season 4 messed it up. Silly Arthur and his big ol' quests! Actually, I'm going to shorten the time it takes a bit by making it take the same time despite the fact that they have no horses. _

**Title:** Assassins

**Author:** Kitty O

**Rating:** T

* * *

><p><strong>Part Two: Rebels<strong>

**Chapter Nine: Mid-Conversation**

"The Isle of the Blessed is next. Once we've collected everything from there, we'll be ready to… actually do something to get back Camelot."

"Good," commented Gwaine, partly to himself. "No offense, but the sooner we stop this scavenger hunt and start actually fighting someone, the better."

"That's all we have left to get?" Lancelot asked, trying to be productive.

"Well, there's one sword I might collect… but I'll do that alone," Merlin said, so decisively that for once not a single person wanted to argue.

"But aren't there… I don't know, _sorcerers_at the Isle? Not the friendly kind," Elyan tacked on swiftly. "The kind that don't like Camelot?"

Everyone looked at Merlin, expecting him to have the answer. "I don't think so," he told them. "Most people who would go there wouldn't want to risk being so obvious about their magic. I've only been there once, a few years ago, and the only one I saw was Nimueh."

"Who?" asked Arthur, raising his eyebrows.

Merlin blushed, as he'd taken to doing every time Arthur asked him a question pertaining to magic. "She was the one who started the plague a while ago… When Gwen was arrested. She also put the poison in that goblet…"

"She was the woman who left me to the spiders? We're going to _her_ home?"

"No, she's dead," Merlin answered.

"Sounds like good riddance," said Gwaine. "Was it your doing, then, Merlin?"

Merlin nodded self-consciously, and when Arthur looked doubtful, he supplied, "I thought she'd killed Gaius."

"She had," Gaius mumbled quietly.

"So I suppose that means you _won't_ threaten me with sedation if I want to go along and try to save Camelot, too," said Arthur drily, his disapproval clear. "Since there's no one there."

Merlin smiled and sat down with everyone else at the Round Table. He didn't mind giving orders when need be, but he couldn't help feeling out of line every time he did. Arthur was the one in charge. Or he should be when he wasn't. Sadly, when it came to magic, Arthur didn't know enough to fill a page of a single book in Geoffrey's library. Which left Merlin in command.

"We shouldn't wait too long to start doing something… Or, well, looking like we are. We're obviously doing something; don't look at me like that, Merlin. The people will start to doubt," Gwaine said, leaning back in his chair.

"My father and the knights can't hold out forever," Arthur agreed.

"If we prepare now and leave as soon as we can," Merlin decided, "we could stop for the night and reach the Isle in the morning, and then get back by tomorrow night. Even if I make a detour for the sword."

Arthur nodded. "If it's the best we can do. Does anyone have a problem with that plan of action?"

No one spoke.

"Alright. Now what did you collect in the vaults?"

Percival got to his feet and lumbered over to the pile of things they'd collected.

"Several amulets," Lancelot started to list.

"Including the one Catrina used to enchant your father, not that it will be much use for us," Merlin interrupted.

"…The Crystal of Neatid…"

"This way, Morgana can't use it."

"Merlin's staff… A See staff, is that what it's called?"

"Sidhe."

Gwaine cut in, "We found those crystals the thugs used in the melee. Two of us can be in disguise as someone else. Just not one of the immortal ones… Since they don't bleed."

"The Mage Stone, I think Merlin said," continued Lancelot. "And a shield that seemed to be vibrating…"

"So we figured it was magical," Elyan finished.

"And what's that?" asked Arthur as Percival put the assorted items onto the table.

"What?" asked Merlin, as he turned and looked—and froze. Gwaine, too, spotted the object to which Arthur was referring and winced. He'd forgotten to hide it away.

Arthur's brows drew together as he recognized it. "Wait…" he said, standing up. He picked it up as Percival sat back down.

"It's just an empty container," Percival observed.

"Empty…?" Arthur turned it around. The top flapped ridiculously. "It is empty." His face was suddenly as hard as an icicle, and Merlin knew he'd messed up. Arthur looked towards Merlin. "It's empty. The goblin isn't in here."

"Um, no, no it's not," Merlin agreed rather nervously, shrinking back a bit into his chair. He didn't like the calm way Arthur said that.

"You let it go," Arthur said slowly. "I suppose you forgot the chaos that thing caused."

"I thought it might work to our advantage."

"The goblin won't just wreak havoc on the person wearing the crown, sorcerer. Did you forget Gwen, Sir Leon, _Gaius_, and even _you_ were affected by the goblin? What about—?"

Before Arthur could get too mad, Merlin decided to defend himself. "Before I let it go, I talked to the goblin and told it—"

"Oh, you talked to it. That erases the whole problem. You talked to the little creature that possessed our court physician for a bit of fun and explained to it that it just couldn't do that anymore, I suppose." Arthur's voice was sharp.

Merlin was practically quailing under the prince's sarcasm, but he tried not to show his more-than-mild alarm.

"You didn't tell me you planned on doing this," Arthur continued. The rest of the knights watched in blank perplexity as he reprimanded the warlock.

"I wasn't planning on it," Merlin defended himself, "until I saw it just sitting there."

"You didn't…" Arthur opened his mouth, and then stopped. He saw that all the knights were watching him and realized that his hand was clenched into fists, as thought he might hit Merlin again. And he might've, he realized. Taking a deep breath, he relaxed his body. Turning to the warlock, he gave the man a look of disgust meant to convey his feelings: _I let you alone and you put Camelot in danger. Do you see why I can't trust you? _

Merlin ducked his head.

"You lot sort this out," said Arthur as he pushed his chair back. "I want nothing to do with these." _Magic,_ his expression said. _I want nothing to do with magic._

He turned from the table and walked away, leaving Merlin with four confused but sympathetic knights, an old physician, and a profound sense of having failed in some way. _Whatever progress you made with him, Merlin, _he told himself, _forget it. _

Well, it wasn't his fault. Except that it partly was. He _had_ put Camelot at risk – a calculated one, but Merlin knew better than anyone that when it came to his home and people, Arthur did not take any kind of risks whatsoever. And he did not look kindly on those that did. Merlin should have thought of that.

"I'll bring the staff," said Merlin after a moment. "If everyone brings one thing that we don't know much about, I'll see what I can figure out about using them on the trip. Some of them might take some practice, especially the ones used for combat."

"With the Mage Stone," reflected Lancelot, trying to act normal, "we can buy normal weapons. Doesn't it turn things into gold?"

Merlin nodded.

"But it wouldn't do much good on the trip."

"Neither would I," said Gaius, shifting in his own chair. "I believe I should stay behind. I would be able to transform gold and buy weapons and supplies. We require more food, not immediately, but we can't wait too long."

"Will you be safe here, Gaius?" asked Merlin with concern.

"They haven't found it yet," said Elyan. "It would probably be safer than a trip to the Isle of the Blessed."

"Then it's decided," said Gwaine. "We'll collect Arthur, our bags, and go! We'll have Camelot back by the end of the week!"

Merlin let a grin stretch over his face. "That way, you can spend the weekend drinking."

Gwaine laughed. "You know me well, my friend."

\-_-BREAK-_-/

They sent Elyan and Percival to collect Arthur, because the prince had stormed outside. They seemed the ones most likely not to test his short temper.

The rest collected their items, packs, and blankets. Merlin wrapped a cloth around the top of the staff and tried to find a way to attach it to his pack so he wouldn't have to carry it like a walking stick. At last he found a way which involved sticking the end through a strap and looping the strap for holding the whole thing around the staff in a strange way. But it worked.

Quickly, he checked his pack's contents—and his eyes fell on a small vial of water. Right. It was supposed to help him when time was bleak, or something along those lines. Well, it hadn't been very helpful so far. He would study it along with the other items, later.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Before they'd gone a mile or so, Merlin had determined that the shield deflected blows in more than just the normal way. It made blows slide right off of it, sometimes not even touching it. The obvious advantage to this was that the shield would not break, and it would block sword strikes that were close to the shield, even if the holder let the metal shield drop lower than he should have. The downside was that the vibration of the shield made the holder's arm go numb.

He handed the shield back to Lancelot and began to check out Percival's amulet as they walked.

Arthur had not brought anything. He walked a little ahead of the group, who were lagging a bit as they watched Merlin bounce spells off of the objects he was testing. Arthur did not watch.

The forest, apart from the sound of the knights and servant walking through it, was silent. The green leaves of the trees tinted the light from the sun, which was growing higher in the sky. It was really very lovely, with twisted old trees and roots spiraling treacherously through the dirt. It was the kind of forest that made Arthur feel as if it must go on forever— despite Merlin's assurances that they would be crossing hills soon.

"The forest is a shortcut," he'd told Arthur. "I wish I'd thought of taking it last time I made this trip."

Arthur hadn't asked about the last time he'd made the trip. He hadn't wanted to know.

The prince walked on, forcing himself not to look back at the newest knights, who were – in his opinion – gawking like scullery maids their first time in a kitchen.

Merlin noticed that the prince hadn't looked back as he walked, but he tried not to take it personally. Though it was meant personally. He thought he would very much like to tell Arthur exactly what had happened the last time he'd been at the Isle—how he'd nearly died for the prince. But really, what good would it do? In the mood he was in now, Arthur would probably just yell at him for it.

The bruise on Merlin's face gave a tiny throb.

"I think it's for generating heat, anything from body heat to fire," he told Percival. "But it probably requires an incantation; I don't know if I can figure it out, though. I'm almost positive you have to know sorcery already to use this one, though."

Percival accepted the amulet and stared at the runes, trying to decipher them as Merlin obviously had.

They kept walking. Merlin kept figuring. Arthur didn't look back.

Finally they had passed out of the trees and onto the hills, and then it grew to dark to continue on. So they stopped for the night and brought out their bedrolls, but instead of getting into his, Merlin brandished his staff.

"Alright," he said with a cheerful smile, not missing the slightly-awestruck-but-trying-to-hide-it look on most of the knights' faces. "Who wants to try some of this stuff out?"

Gwaine, Lancelot, Percival, and Elyan scrambled up immediately with varying degrees of eagerness and wariness.

But Arthur, who'd barely spoken two words to Merlin since he discovered the goblin's release, simply turned his back to the men, laying on his side in his blanket, and ignored them.

_All right,_ thought Merlin, pretending that didn't dampen his mood in the slightest. _Spoilsport._

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _I realize that this chapter was rather boring, but it had to happen. I needed it especially to let Arthur get mad again. Because of course I can't let things go smoothly. Next chapter should hopefully contain the Isle, Excalibur, and a bit of action, so stick with me!_ _Please review. _

_~Kitty O of Awesomeness, PBO_


	10. MidJourney

**A/N:** _Heh heh, another plot problem created by season 4. Well, here's my explanation: the knights just didn't see the box that held the key. And it didn't look magical. That's it. From now on, though, just pretend that anything that happens in season 4 will not happen in this fic. Because it's AU, and I'm having a hard time trying to make it fit. _

**Title:** Assassins

**Author:** Kitty O

**Rating:** T

* * *

><p><strong>Part Two: Rebels<strong>

**Chapter Ten: Mid-Journey**

It turned out that Elyan was a natural with the Sidhe staff. He took to it immediately, holding it as if it had grown attached to his hand. Merlin had told all of the knights to aim for a rock a little distance away, and to try to knock it into the air, not to destroy it. Percival had nearly burned down the forest, and the rest had missed just as miserably, but with pathetic little blasts that barely sent up sparks.

Elyan, however, hit the rock and threw it up into the air as he was supposed to, only slightly scorching it.

"Lucky shot," said Lancelot in amazement.

Merlin was shocked too, so he pointed to a knot on a tree a little bit further away. "Hit that," he said.

Elyan did, dead center, and then smiled proudly. "Lancelot's right," he said. "It was just a lucky..."

"Can you hit a moving target?" asked Merlin curiously.

Elyan shrugged. "I can try. What moving target?"

"A bird?"

"If he hits it, we can eat it," said Gwaine. "That's better than a crossbow any day."

By this point, even Arthur was sitting up and watching the goings-on.

Merlin pointed at the sky, and Elyan looked up and raised the top of the staff, and the next thing they knew, the bird had exploded.

Elyan jumped. "Sorry," he said. "I don't think this thing has a cook-but-don't-blow-up choice."

Merlin studied the feathers wafting down from the sky. "It's probably a good thing," he said. "Elyan, that's not just a lucky shot."

Gwaine patted the dark man on the shoulder. "If we need a staff-wielder when we take back Camelot, I vote for you."

Arthur lay back down again.

The half-playtime and half-educational session continued, with everyone's interest piqued. Only Arthur didn't take part; he mentioned something about magic being illegal only once, but Gwaine shut him up with a rather acid comment about there having been a slight change in the monarchy recently.

Arthur turned away with a feeling that he was _really _going to regret having knighted Gwaine.

In the end, though, only Elyan and Merlin performed well at even one of the things the knights brought along on the trip. The rest agreed that they preferred to use swords to fight, and for the most part Elyan agreed with them. But he couldn't help feeling drawn to the staff, with its stone at the top and its worn down wood.

"Ah," he asked Merlin at the end, clutching the staff to himself, "would it be okay if I... kept it with me, for now? If you want it back, it's fine, but I thought I could just carry it for you..."

Merlin cut him off. "That's fine, Elyan." He smiled and handed Elyan the cloth he used to cover the jewel. "Thanks."

Elyan nodded.

"Maybe it's time for us all to get some sleep," Lancelot said when the artifacts had all been put away.

"Oh, that's a novel idea," remarked Arthur, who had been trying to do just that for the past hour.

"We should reach the Isle in the morning, right?" Gwaine asked Merlin, who nodded.

"Early," he said. "And then we'll head back to Gaius. With one little detour."

"Right, the sword."

"Right."

As everyone crawled into their respective blankets, someone called out a good night. The rest responded in kind, even Arthur, and then, just as everyone grew silent again, one voice said in a hoarse whisper:

"Sweet dreams."

Merlin chuckled along with the rest, and thought to himself in surprise, _Was that Percival?_

\-_-BREAK-_-/

When she walked in on her mistress with a head as bald as a baby's, Gwen most definitely did not laugh. She didn't even chuckle behind her hand, or snicker to herself the moment she was alone.

Definitely not. Even if she really wanted to.

Instead, she just squawked in suitable surprise and ran for Morgause.

"Milady!" she squealed, running into Morgause's room after knocking and being admitted. The blonde woman was standing by the table that used to be Arthur's in a too-big white shirt and trousers.

"What is it, Gwen?"

"It's Morgana, milady. She needs you."

Morgause was slightly annoyed. She didn't like being called for like a servant, but then, her sister was queen now. Once the newness wore off, Morgause was sure that this newfound slightly pompous attitude would go with it. "Why can't my sister come to me?"

"She's a bit... indisposed."

"If she became disposed, she could then come to me," remarked Morgause, who was not in the best of moods due to some small quarrel she'd had with the cook.

"Morgana is bald!"

Silence fell as Morgause's eyebrows went up her forehead. "She's what?"

Gwen shrugged, and a minute later the two women were rushing to the queen's chambers.

The door opened, and Morgana started guiltily, her hand flying up to cover the pale, empty place where her hair used to be. She was sitting up in her bed, tear tracks marked out down her face. Morgause gasped in horror. "Sister! Your hair!"

"I know!" Morgana yelped. "That goblin must have gotten loose again!"

She looked so unqueenly that Gwen almost laughed out loud and forfeited her life, but the thought of the goblin running amok stopped her. Gwen's hands went rather nervously to her lower stomach.

"How is this possible?" asked Morgause, going to her sister's side to comfort her.

"Arthur and Merlin," Morgana responded immediately, her face going dark.

"My lady," Gwen said slowly, "how could they have anything to do with this? They aren't in Camelot."

Morgana shook her head stubbornly. "I want them found, Morgause! Send out guards to search! I want to find them! They'll pay for this, for trying to make me look ridiculous!" Her voice had risen to a near screech, her face red. Being queen was doing nothing for her temper.

Gwen suddenly had to force herself to quench the anger that sprung up in her. She was going to make Arthur and Merlin pay because the goblin made her feel silly?

_She's never looked more ridiculous in her life, _Gwen realized, but shook the thought away. It would do no good to be angry.

It probably was Merlin's fault anyway.

"I will send the guards out at once, Sister," Morgause assured Morgana, straightening.

The fear that had crawled into Gwen's belly days ago seemed to swell.

"Gwen!"

"Your majesty?" Gwen asked, just now reminding herself that Morgana was now queen.

"Get me a hat!"

"Yes, Morgana."

Gwen left, the picture of a demure servant. But throughout the day as she worked, even after the guards rode out in search of the man she loved, Gwen would have a tiny little smile on her lips. When anyone asked why, she would just shake her head.

No one understood why she smiled. Even when she went to bed that night, it was with a small upward turn of the lips. And still no one understood.

Except, perhaps, Sir Leon. For during the course of the day, he'd had a very interesting chat with Morgana, and noted to himself that it was hard to look threatening with that kind of hat. He'd paid for laughing through the new bruise taking up much of his cheek, but even though his jaw was sore all day, he still wore a smile very similar to Gwen's until he closed his eyes that night.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

The trip to the Isle had been uneventful. They'd all piled into the boat, and Merlin had used his magic to propel them through the water.

Once there, they'd all climbed out and immediately gone towards the altar on the center of the Isle. Even Arthur looked a little impressed as he cast his eyes about the ruins, but he didn't touch anything.

"Where should we look?" asked Gwaine.

Merlin shrugged. "I've never been past here. This is where I struck Nimueh with lightning."

"Where was I again while all of this was happening?" asked Arthur, looking where Merlin had pointed. Was it his imagination, or was there a scorch mark? _Assuming Merlin's telling the truth about being on our side, I'm glad he's on our side. _

"Dying," Merlin told him. "You'd just been bitten by the Questing Beast. Nimueh knew how to heal you, but she tried to trick me."

"Not surprising," Arthur said, turning away. He had the feeling that he should thank Merlin, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

"There's a cave," Percival announced, pointing. "Or is it a tunnel?"

"Looks like a little of both," said Lancelot.

They checked it out, and found it almost empty, with the exception of a few herbs, spells written on paper, and a bowl sitting on a piece of stone.

"Scrying bowl," announced Merlin. "Now this could be useful!"

"Great," said Arthur, looking around the dark chambers. "Is that all? We should head back as soon as we can."

Merlin took his pack off his shoulders and opened it. "It's too small," he said. "I can hold the herbs and spells but not the bowl." With everyone's artifact and his own things, he was out of room.

"I'd offer, but I haven't anything to hold it in," said Gwaine, and Elyan nodded. He had a small pack, a blanket, and the staff, and no room for anything else.

Before Merlin could get impatient, Percival held out a hand. "I'll wrap it in my blanket and carry it," he offered. He and Lancelot had been sharing a pack when they appeared, and Lancelot was carrying it - almost empty - so Percival didn't have anything else to carry.

In a moment, they'd searched the rest of the dripping wet cave and gone back into the sunlight. For the sake of being thorough, they searched the rest of the small, overgrown, wild island, but saw nothing.

At Arthur's urging, the entire group finally gave up, and they all got back into the small boat and left the Isle behind.

Once they had gone, everyone took what felt like their first breath in hours.

"That place," Lancelot observed, "is drenched in magic."

And everyone was glad that he said it so that none of the other knights had to.

Once they were back on land, Merlin pointed out the way and they began their trek.

"You know where we're going?" Lancelot asked, walking beside Merlin at the front of their little parade.

"I could find my way to the lake in my sleep," Merlin told him, with a sad light in his eyes.

"How far is it?" asked Arthur.

"A few hours' walk, I'd guess," Merlin called back. "It's closer to the Castle of the Ancient Kings than it is to here, though."

"Then we should walk fast," Arthur decided, his worried eyes on the sky.

"Don't worry," Merlin said. "We'll get back on time. Unless something unexpected happens. But when do things like that ever happen to us?"

"Please," Arthur responded, his voice tight. "Don't even _joke _about that."

Merlin laughed, but Lancelot, who could see his face, found that there wasn't any mirth in his eyes. He was still thinking about the lake. What was wrong with this lake?"

"When we get there," Merlin told everyone, "I want to go to the lake alone. The rest of you can stay in the trees, but I want to go alone. I won't take too long."

"As long as it doesn't take too long," Arthur replied, "then you can go with however many people you want."

Merlin nodded, satisfied.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

"You're all wet."

"Thank you, Gwaine," Merlin said, brushing the water from his hair out of his eyes. "I am indeed wet."

"Why are you wet?" asked Elyan, staring at the sword in Merlin's hand.

Merlin hefted the sword as though to make a point. "I had to go swimming."

"That's a beautiful blade," Lancelot said. "Where is it from?"

Merlin smiled, squeezing the water out of his shirt with one hand. His clothes were clinging to him, and he looked like he was freezing. The only parts of him that wasn't wet were his jacket and neckerchief, which he'd obviously taken off, but both were rapidly becoming soaked through as well.

"That's a bit of a secret," Merlin said proudly.

He'd said the same thing about ten minutes ago when they'd asked why there was a sword in a lake and why they couldn't come. But Merlin had just dumped his pack by a tree, one of the many, and left them in the woods to ponder his secretiveness.

Now, he was back, and not sounding like he was going to spill anymore information.

Merlin wiped his face one more time and made a beeline for Arthur.

"Arthur," he said.

Arthur looked up, his eyebrows raised in a question.

Merlin held up both hands, the flat of the sword resting against them, presenting the sword to the once-prince.

"This sword is yours," Merlin said. "It was made for you, and only for you to wield. It's very powerful, but it's a power for good, not for evil. A good that can only be brought about if you have the sword."

"How... how could it be made for me? I've never seen it. I don't even know where it came from."

Merlin gave a bit of a nervous chuckle, successfully ruining what could have been a dramatic moment. The chuckle was helped along by the steady _drip, drip_ of Merlin's clothes and the fact that he looked as though someone had just drowned him.

"It was made to help you destroy the Black Knight," he said. "But your father used it, and he wasn't supposed to. Since it was my fault, and I was supposed to give you the sword in the first place, I had to hide it... You know what, it's a long story. Just believe me, it's for you. You are supposed to use it."

Arthur shook his head. "It's magic. I can't use magic."

Lancelot's attention was drawn by something to the side. He turned and looked, and when he glanced at Elyan, he saw that the other knight had heard it too.

"It's just a sword, Arthur," said Merlin, slightly impatient. "It's _yours_. Your father used it..."

"Then he didn't know it was magic."

"No, but... the sword..."

"I won't use it."

"But-"

"I won't, _sorcerer_!" Arthur suddenly snapped, and any argument in Merlin's mind faded away as the smaller man flushed.

"Merlin! Arthur!" Lancelot called, and they both turned.

Arthur's sword was out in an instant. Immortal soldiers. Three of them, running towards the group, obviously attracted by the yelling, all wearing Morgana's emblem.

All the knights went for their swords, and Merlin held out the one in his hand. Elyan had a sword in one hand and the staff in the other.

"Run!" Arthur shouted, but before anyone could follow his order, they had been set upon. One of the guards growled audibly and went for the prince and warlock at once, swinging his sword. Arthur went to parry the blow, but Merlin's sword reached it first.

_Pop!_

There was a sparkle of gold, and the guard was gone. All that was left was several glittering strips of clothing.

"What...?" Arthur gasped.

Merlin wasn't really sure what had just happened either, but the sword in his hand seemed to tremble a bit in pleasure.

"Whoa," he breathed.

Another one of the men went for Gwaine, but the knight stumbled back, nearly losing his balance. The guard rushed past a tree, stepping on Merlin's pack as he did so, heading to kill the knight, but before he could reach Gwaine, Merlin had driven the magic sword into the guard's side.

_Pop!_

Merlin turned to the third one, but he was already taken.

Elyan had hit him with the staff's power and sent him flying, but the guard got up, not feeling any pain. So Elyan hit him again. When he stood up again, the knights prepared to rush him, but Elyan called out, "No! Stand back!"

He took a deep breath, set his jaw, pointed the staff, and a look of painful concentration came over his black face.

The jewel almost seemed to catch on fire, turning a livid red, and white lightning flew from the tip, connecting with the immortal guard's chest. Every tree around seemed to shake from the power, and the guard exploded into a small circle of shiny strips of cloth lying on the smoking grass.

Silence fell.

And then Gwaine whooped. "Morgana's men had better _watch out_! Elyan, I didn't know you could do that!"

Elyan smiled a little weakly, still staring at the burnt patch of forest floor. "Neither did I." And then he tore his eyes away to meet Merlin's gaze. "But I can't say I'm complaining."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _There you go! Kind of a longer chapter, but it had more action. Yes, I decided to let the staff kill them too. I mean, if you've been blown up, you're either dead or you're just stuck as a bunch of shiny bits. And shiny bits can't hurt anyone, really, though I wouldn't want to be stuck that way, so I'm assuming he's dead. _

_I hope you enjoyed! Please review! _

_~Kitty O of Awesomeness, PBO_


	11. MidLecture

**Title:** Assassins

**Author:** Kitty O

**Rating:** T

* * *

><p><strong>Part Two: Rebels<strong>

**Chapter Eleven: Mid-Lecture**

Suddenly Elyan hissed and dropped the staff onto the ground, cradling his hand.

"What is it?" asked Lancelot, his eyes on the staff that was lying on the forest floor.

"It got… hot," Elyan said. "Really, really hot. Like it was about to catch fire."

"I've never seen it do that," Merlin muttered, walking over to the staff and bending over. He put his hand out but didn't touch it. "Yeah, I can feel the heat from here. How much power did you _use_, Elyan?"

"Um… a lot," Elyan replied. "He wouldn't blow up otherwise."

"Look at the jewel on top," Gwaine said. The gem was still glowing, but only faintly. "Do you think it's going to break or something, Merlin?"

"Not now," Merlin responded. "See, it's fading… The heat's going away." Merlin picked it up and seemed to test its weight in his hand. Shrugging, he gave it back to Elyan. "Just be careful with it… We'll ask Gaius about it when we get back. Try not to use it if you don't have to…"

"In case you break it or something," added Gwaine, who felt it necessary for him to put in his two bits.

Arthur wasn't all that interested in the staff, though. Sheathing his sword, he asked Merlin, "How did you do that?"

Merlin glanced at his sword from the lake. "The sword did it."

"How?"

Merlin shrugged. "Because that's what it's for, I guess. It's still yours, Sire." He held it out one more time, hopefully.

Arthur stared at the sword, his eyes flickering up and down the blade and hilt. For a second, his hand hovered in the air, and Merlin thought he would take it. And then he turned away, shaking his head. "We should get back," he said. "Gaius will be wondering why we weren't back on time."

Merlin sighed. Why was Arthur so difficult? To a certain extent, Merlin could understand it—his sister had betrayed them, and then Merlin had revealed to Arthur that he'd been lying for the past years, and on top of it all Arthur could probably _feel_ the weight of Camelot resting on his shoulders, tottering precariously. So if he was snappish, Merlin could understand. If he took a while to stop glaring at Merlin, then Merlin would wait.

But for the love of Camelot, this sword could make _immortal _soldiers _explode_! And it belonged to Arthur! So why couldn't he just once say, "That's pretty amazing, actually," and _take the damn sword_?

Rolling his eyes, Merlin tucked the sword as safely as he could into his own belt, wishing he had a sheath or a cloth or something.

Nothing good would come from Arthur rejecting the sword that was made for him, Merlin thought, feeling as sure as if he could tell the future.

Merlin went to go pick up his sack, and everyone else prepared to leave, when suddenly Merlin gave a cry that sent Arthur's heart right into his mouth.

_We're being attacked again, _he thought, whipping his sword out and spinning around. But they weren't. No, Merlin was just standing, holding his pack a few inches off the ground, and staring at the dirt beneath it.

"What is it?" Arthur snapped, putting his sword up again, his heartbeat beginning to return to normal.

Merlin pointed to the wet spot that was soaked through his pack, and the water that was dripping slowly into the dry dirt, quickly being absorbed.

The other knights had turned to face any threat, too, and they watched Merlin with concern.

"Did something break?" Lancelot asked.

Merlin dropped to his knees, put the pack back down, and began to dig through it. His hand came back up full of slick, wet shards of glass and a twisted... Well, they couldn't tell what it was. It was too badly twisted.

"It must have happened when the guard stepped on your pack," Gwaine said helpfully. "Was it important?"

Percival was watching Merlin's face. "It was important," he determined.

Merlin looked up, his eyebrows drawn together. "It was supposed to help me when things looked really bad," he said. "I was trying to discover how it was going to help, but now…"

"Maybe," suggested Gwaine, "it was for drinking when there was no other water around."

Elyan nudged him, but it wasn't needed. Gwaine nearly bit his tongue out.

"Where did you get it?" Arthur asked Merlin.

"From…" Merlin stopped and looked around at the other knights – especially Sir Gwaine – then back to Arthur. "I just got it," he said. "It's… it's not important. Let's get back. We're going to be late." He dropped the wet glass by the tree roots, shaking his head. He would have to make do without it.

Then the knights, ex-prince, and warlock left, taking their stuff, and not one of them looked back to notice the few leftover droplets of water trying desperately to pull themselves together to form a puddle.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

When they arrived back at the castle, they found Gaius waiting for them.

"You're later than you said you would be," the old man accused.

"Not by much. We had a few unexpected difficulties," Merlin told him, allowing himself to be patted on the shoulder. "Did you figure out how to work the Mage Stone?"

"Almost," Gaius said. "I see you retrieved the sword."

"Yes," Lancelot said, "and it can kill immortal soldiers, apparently."

Gaius nodded at the weapon. "Were you attacked? What happened?"

"We were," Arthur told him as he headed towards the Round Table to sit down and rest for a while. Gaius turned to face the prince, but Merlin kept his eyes on Gaius. He wasn't talking to Arthur at the present moment. And since Arthur wasn't talking to him much either, it really worked out pretty well. "But between the sword and the staff, the soldiers were destroyed."

As Gaius turned to Merlin again, his eyebrow rose. "The Sidhe staff?"

Merlin jerked his head at Elyan. "He did it; I didn't. I didn't know it was possible either."

"I suppose it would be possible," Gaius mused, holding his hand out to Elyan, and the dark-skinned knight gave the staff to him. Gaius ran his fingers over it, studying it, though he remembered it well. "But it would take so much power from the staff…"

"It was very hot afterwards," Elyan told him. "We couldn't touch it for a few minutes. Do you know why that is?"

Gaius nodded, thinking it over. "The magic of a Sidhe is inside this staff. That's why it is possible for you to use it, though you don't practice magic."

Elyan felt himself relaxing a little, but he didn't say a word to the others about the fearful thoughts of sorcery that had been running through his head for a while now.

"However," Gaius continued. "Even that magic can be pushed to limits… Asking of the magic to kill something that should not be able to be killed is perilous."

"It's not safe?"

Gaius looked up. "If used sparingly, it shouldn't hurt anything. But too much of that powerful magic used at once could break the staff, killing the user."

Elyan looked ashen for a moment. "We'll have to… be careful."

Gaius nodded and gave him back the staff. Elyan clutched it, regaining his cover but still looking frightened at what could have happened.

"I think we should all go to sleep," Arthur suddenly announced, and everyone glanced over to the man seated at the Round Table, his chair turned so he was facing them. His face was in one hand, his elbow resting on his knee. "We've been walking all day, and tomorrow…" He looked up. "Tomorrow we fight for Camelot."

Gwaine yawned. "I second that," he agreed. "I'm ready to turn in."

Everyone else was exhausted, for the most part, so everyone put their things up. Elyan lovingly wrapped the staff in its cloth, and then everyone except for Merlin and Gaius crawled into their blankets.

Merlin used his magic to light the fire and disperse any smoke coming from the chimney, in case an enemy was watching, just as he had the night before last when he and Arthur had talked before the flames. He sat down in front of the bone-warming fire, and Gaius sat next to him, carefully maneuvering himself into the chair, sighing at the aches of his old body.

"What did you find at the Isle?" Gaius asked him, and Merlin reached for his pack.

"Scrying bowl." He handed it over, and Gaius turned it around, looking it over in the firelight.

"I remember this," he said affectionately. "It belonged to Nimueh. She used to use it to check up on everyone, and to perform some of her more complex spells. Is this all?"

"That and a few herbs and such. That's all, though. I would've thought there would be more."

"The high priests and priestesses used to stay at the Isle," Gaius informed him. "Many of them were so powerful that they had no need of amulets or trinkets to perform magic. As powerful as you shall be someday soon."

Merlin nodded as he took the bowl back. _Unless I die soon. _He knew by now that Arthur would not have him arrested when this whole thing was over—he had only the tiniest of doubts in this belief. But the possibility of dying in action was still there.

Merlin was not surprised to find that he was a little afraid. "I'll use the bowl to see what the best plan of action is for tomorrow… But tomorrow, when everyone is awake."

"What is the plan?" asked Gaius.

Merlin smiled. "I don't know yet. But I should by tomorrow." His voice dropped to a whisper. "When everyone is sleeping, I'm going for a walk. I'll be back before morning." He smiled mischievously, but Gaius's eyes narrowed as something occurred to him.

"What's the matter, Merlin?"

"What do you mean?"

"Something is wrong; something is bothering you." The old physician leaned forward. "You can tell me what it is."

Merlin sighed, keeping his voice low. "Arthur."

"What did he do?"

Gesturing to the sword at his side, Merlin replied, "This sword was made for him, Gaius. It's _his_. But he won't take it. He'll barely even look at it. Why can't he understand what it can do? It's not like… It's not like it's another sorcerer. It doesn't even really use magic."

"Did you tell him you made it from…?"

"No," Merlin cut him off. "I'm… I'm saving that one for a while. There's no need to make him angrier at me. But if he's working with me, even if he doesn't seem to like it very much," he added with a grumble, "then why can't he use this sword to defeat Morgana? It's not mine to use."

Gaius sighed in sympathy, but he shook his head. "Merlin, Arthur has learned all his life—"

"I know that," Merlin said impatiently, cutting off Gaius mid-lecture, waving his hand as if to brush the thought away. "I know that very well."

But Gaius wasn't finished. "He can work with you, as you put it, because it's the best way to save Camelot, and because part of him trusts you. But if I had to hazard a guess, I don't think that Arthur can justify betraying his father's beliefs by using a magical artifact personally, especially not while his father is behind bars… Or possibly worse."

Merlin sighed and dropped his eyes to the floor. For a moment, he was silent.

Gaius prompted, "Do you understand, Merlin?"

Nodding, Merlin stood up. "I understand," he said, looking around at the slumbering knights. "And I'm going for a walk."

"Don't get into any trouble."

Merlin snorted. "Gaius, most of the world is sleeping," said the thin, dark-haired warlock. "What trouble could I get into?"

"I don't know," Gaius replied calmly. "But I trust you to find some."

\-_-BREAK-_-/

The young dragonlord left the old castle with his back straight, found his way to the nearest, largest clearing he could find, and planted his feet into the ground. He raised his chin to the sky and began to speak.

About ten minutes later, Gaius was awoken from his snoozing by the sound of Merlin entering the castle again. He raised his head and his eyebrow expectantly at Merlin.

Merlin smiled at him as he plopped down into his own blanket. "I've got it," he told the old man in a low tone. "I know what the plan is going to be."

Gaius nodded for him to go on, and Merlin explained, "The Cup of Life."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _No, it's actually not coming to a close! Now, November is near at hand, and I'm not going to be updating very much during November. I might not be able to update at all. But I will do my best, and come December I will be right back!_ _So hang in there. _

_What did you think?  
><em>

_~Kitty O of Awesomeness, PBO_


	12. MidFight

**Title:** Assassins

**Author:** Kitty O

**Rating:** T

* * *

><p><strong>Part Two: Rebels<strong>

**Chapter Twelve: Mid-Fight**

"Let me get this straight, _sor_cerer. So you know that we need to go after the Cup of Life, and you've come to this conclusion overnight, and yet you won't tell us how you found out?"

Arthur leaned back in his chair and locked his fingers together. Gwaine, across from him at the Round Table, cast the prince a very annoyed look. Lancelot was watching Merlin steadily, no sign of distrust in his eyes. Percival and Elyan were looking back and forth between Merlin and Arthur. Gaius tried to look neutral.

Merlin reflected that now Arthur was now inflecting the first part of _sorcerer_, as if it was actually the man's name. If this kept up much longer, he might never go back to _Merlin_.

Pushing the thought aside, Merlin laughed nervously. "Yes," he said. "That's pretty much the size of it. But it's not hard to figure… If the Cup made them immortal, it should take that away."

Arthur eyed him disdainfully for a moment. "And you wonder why I don't think you're trustworthy."

"That's not the point, though, is it?" Gwaine said, leaning forward and putting his elbows on the table. "The point is, this could be the way to defeat that bunch of immortal scum, and I'm all for it."

"I'm not against it," Arthur said, leaning forward as well. "_If_ the idea will actually work, I'm for it as well. But people could get hurt this way. We don't want to harm allies, citizens of Camelot."

"We'll have to be careful. We get in, empty the Cup, get out," said Gwaine. "No bloodshed. Well. You know what I mean."

Arthur was not amused. Somehow, Gwaine wasn't surprised.

"There's one problem," Elyan suddenly said, and everyone looked at him.

"What might that be?" asked Gaius.

"Well… we don't know where the Cup is being kept. The castle of Camelot is a big place."

Everyone looked at Merlin. Merlin was not fazed in the slightest—actually, they got the feeling he'd been waiting for that question. Immediately, he reached beneath the table and brought up Nimueh's old scrying bowl, already half filled with water.

Arthur sighed. "You certainly are dramatic," he commented.

Merlin glared. "Don't ruin this for me."

"How do you work that?" asked Percival, who was craning his neck to see into the bowl.

Merlin shrugged. "No idea. But I'll work it out."

"Before noon?" Lancelot asked, looking out a window into the morning light.

"Yes. Probably."

Sometimes Arthur had the feeling that the fate of Camelot rested on an idiot. Possibly a traitorous idiot.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Arthur hadn't been interested in watching Merlin puzzle out a spell that would make the Cup's location apparent (or, more truthfully, he hadn't wanted to admit he was interested), so he instead went to check their weapons. Only Merlin's lake-sword and Elyan's new staff could kill the men, and Elyan took too long for his to work on the run, but they would each still have a sword and as much armor as possible at least. (Except Percival, but Arthur told himself he'd get that man some practical sleeves as soon as he found some that fit.) That way they could defend themselves.

He'd assured himself that everyone had what they needed (though Elyan might opt to bring that staff, which was like his extra arm now) when Merlin came up behind him.

"We found the Cup," he said.

"Good," Arthur replied, staring at the swords. "Where is it?"

"A room in the east wing of the castle. The old council room, Gaius has informed me. Pedestal with the Cup is by the back, with windows, and the door has a few carvings on it…"

"I know the room," Arthur said. "Did you see how many guards?"

"At least a dozen."

"That's a lot," Arthur said, looking at the weapons. "Considering we have half that number."

"We don't need to defeat them, just to get past them long enough to empty the Cup," pointed out Merlin. "We can do it."

Arthur nodded and rubbed his hands together. "We can't all approach them together of course; we'll have to split up… I guess…" Arthur rubbed his forehead, sighing. If he'd been looking, he'd have seen Merlin's brows draw together. Merlin's hand rested on his shoulder, and Arthur didn't pull away.

"What's wrong, Arthur?"

Arthur laughed mirthlessly. "Except for the fact that my magical half-sister has turned traitor and taken the throne, and I don't know what's happening to my father, and I have to defeat an army that can't be killed with half a dozen men?"

"Yes."

Arthur sighed and dropped his hands to his side. "I'm not sure we can win this," he admitted for the first time. "And I don't want to send those men to their deaths for something impossible."

Merlin was silent for a minute. "I've known you for what, three years?"

"Probably, what does that have to do with it?"

"Do you know how many impossible things we've done in that time? How about those skeletons that came to life? Or the Black Knight that your father managed to kill? Or defeated the dragon even though we all thought we were riding to our deaths? Or…"

"I get it," Arthur cut him off, beginning to smile.

"This is no different. So, you ready to go, then? With any luck we'll have back Camelot by nightfall."

Arthur sighed. "I'm ready."

"You know… the offer with the sword is still…"

"No," Arthur said, and walked away. Merlin sighed too and followed him, just like always.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

The plan in a nutshell: Arthur, Merlin, and Lancelot would go through the castle – since they knew it best – and try to get to the room where the Cup was being kept. Percival, Elyan, and Gwaine were going to hide themselves as best they could and wait fifteen minutes. Then, no matter whether the other three had actually made it to the room or not, the latter group was going to use the staff to break the window open and enter from the back way. Hopefully, attacking from two sides would ensure that _somebody_ got to the Cup in one piece. Also, each group had one person who could actually kill the guards, but Elyan – who would take longer – was with the group that entered second.

Everyone knew the risks. They knew that they might not make it back alive. They were ready. The feelings in the group ranged from desperate to optimistic, but not one person planned on giving up. Losing was not an option. It was a nightmare.

With that in mind, they took up refuge just outside the city walls. Everyone picked a tree or a bush to stay behind and prepared themselves mentally for a moment, taking deep breaths. They were all dressed in armor with normal clothes over it, hoping to make them appear inconspicuous. Arthur sported a blue cloak with a hood that Gaius had picked up when he traveled to buy supplies that morning. Merlin just planned on keeping his head down. Swords were hidden to the best of the men's ability… Except, they gave up on the staff. Merlin told Elyan to use it like a walking stick. As if that would fool anyone.

"Alright," Arthur said to his men, gesturing for Merlin and Lancelot to come with him. "Remember, follow us in fifteen minutes. Try not to get into trouble before you get there."

And the three of them walked away, right up to the gates of Camelot. Into the lion's mouth.

There was no one at the gate except for a guard, his face hidden behind a helmet. The bustling streets of Camelot – emptier than usual, no surprise – were visible just inside. They went to move past, but the guard stopped them with a raised hand, clearly indicating "stop."

Merlin's hand went to his waist, and he began to finger his sword.

"What is it, my good man?" asked Lancelot, smiling in a slightly fake manner. Merlin winced—he was not the best of actors, Lancelot. Good thing he made his living by the sword.

"Business?" asked the man, and Merlin felt a jolt.

_They talk. _

He cleared his throat. "We're just travelers passing through," he said. "It's…" He looked to Arthur. "A personal pilgrimage."

_Weak. _Merlin gripped the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it should the guard become suspicious. What if he demanded Arthur take his hood off, or...?

But the guard waved them on. Merlin sighed. Well, being immortal did not make them smarter. Maybe they weren't supposed to be watching for trouble. Even with the goblin on the loose, maybe Morgana was not as careful as she should be?

They walked quickly through the crowd of people, their eyes ahead, but Merlin kept his ears open for the conversations going on around them. He wanted to know what Camelot said.

"—_still on the loose; I heard yesterday, all of the queen's jewelry was stolen. And you know they still haven't found a way to make… you know, it grow back..."_

"—_so's I says to her, I says, 'If you think that my John's been playing 'round where he shouldn't be, then you take that up with him'. I swear she turned as red…"_

"—_If the knights don't swear soon, I've heard she'll just have them hung. Yesterday, one almost broke out, I've heard…"_

"—_I was shocked. I never thought it of her, and you know he has no intention of marrying—"_

About now Elyan, Percival, and Gwaine were probably on the way. Merlin wondered if the man at the gate gave them trouble. The castle loomed above them, and Merlin brought his thoughts back to himself. Arthur and Lancelot were staring at the castle in trepidation.

"Ready?" asked Merlin.

Arthur nodded, as did the knight.

"Remember, don't draw attention. If someone notices us and we can't talk our way out of it… You…"

"I got it," Merlin assured him. "I use your sword."

Arthur nodded and swallowed.

They'd stood around long enough. So they gathered their courage and climbed the familiar steps into the castle. The minute they stepped into the half-open hallway, with the wall on one side and the pillars on the other, Merlin was positive that someone was about to run screaming up to them.

But it didn't happen.

They kept moving, hearts pumping, eyes ahead, intent on getting to their destination. Arthur cast a quick glance around every few seconds, but kept the hood up. Lancelot and Merlin were ready to draw their swords at a moment's notice, and Merlin knew that Arthur, behind his cloak, was also clenching his sword.

They were more than halfway there, and only a minutes more than that from getting their backup, when a call made them halt. They turned around and saw a guard running towards them.

"Business?" he asked.

They looked at each other. "Um," Lancelot said. "We're just… here to visit the physician….."

The guard looked at Arthur, narrowing his eyes. Arthur ducked and tried to pull his hood down, but too late. The guard gasped and opened his mouth as though to yell.

Before he could draw anyone's attention, Merlin whipped out his dragon-fire-wielded sword and stabbed with all his strength into the man.

_Pop!_

Gold pieces fluttered, and he was gone.

"Hey!" came the shout from down the hall. Well, they'd drawn attention.

Arthur pulled at the string at his neck, letting the cloak fall to the floor around his feet. There was no point anymore. He and Lancelot already had their swords out, but as one the three men turned and ran towards their destination.

At least two guards were behind them; they knew that. But they didn't have time. Feet pounded against the floor. No one looked back—what was the point? They knew what had happened.

Turning the corner, they were faced with the sight of the door they were seeking… and two guards standing before it. No time to hesitate—they launched themselves at the men. Merlin hit one on the arm with his sword before they even knew what hit them – _Pop_! – and Lancelot fought back the other one, while Arthur turned to meet the approaching ones.

Sharp ringing filled the air as the swords clashed, and Merlin joined in. He wasn't as good a fighter as… pretty much anyone there, but he had one advantage. The guards didn't know they couldn't allow themselves to be touched. He disposed of one easily and one with difficulty. Finally, while Arthur held the third immobile against the wall, he killed the last of them.

_Not very sportsman-like, but we haven't the time to worry about that. _

As the door was pushed open, revealing a long, rectangle room filled with twelve guards and one shining, tempting, prized Cup of Life at the end of it, the warning bells began to ring.

_Great, _was the collective thought as they threw themselves into this new fray. Merlin set about trying to get rid of the enemy, with Lancelot behind him. Arthur slipped like fluid through the guards, blocking their sword blows, only focused on the Cup of Life. At one point, he was nearly stopped when a sword nicked his arm and went back for another blow.

Merlin quickly sliced that guard's neck – _Pop_! – and Arthur kept going.

He reached the pedestal, sighing deeply. He brought back his sword, which was still out, and as though in slow motion, he chopped towards the sword.

The metal and the Cup never met. Still about a foot away from the Cup, the sword bounced as though off an invisible wall. It never even came close. Arthur's eyebrows shot up. "What?" he asked aloud.

After a look at Merlin and Lancelot, who were still fighting and not doing so well, he instead used his hand. He tried to pick up the Cup, but he couldn't. Though he could see the Cup clear as day, there was some sort of a dome around the Cup from a foot from it at all sides. It was even warm. A spell.

He shot a panicked look at his friends. "There's a spell!" he shouted over the clanging. "I can't touch it!"

Merlin nearly got himself killed, reacting with surprise. He killed another and made his way to Arthur's side, but when he tried to knock the Cup away with his sword and then hands, the result was the same. "Morgana," he hissed.

"Break the spell!" Arthur ordered. "Use magic!"

Merlin held out a hand. His eyes flashed gold. "_Egwyl__y maes!"_

Nothing. It was still there when Arthur checked.

"_Egwyl__y maes!"_

Nothing. Just then, a few things happened at once. Lancelot cried in pain, as he had been left to fight off about eight men alone, and one had gotten him in the thigh, right through his chainmail. The window also exploded, sending shards towards the men inside. Arthur and Merlin quickly turned away their eyes, and the slivers of glass were too small to cause much damage to their body. The other men leaped inside of the room, and there were quite a few shouts from outside.

Arthur and Merlin were too distracted to care that the knights charged in and were trying to help Lancelot.

"I can't get it!" Merlin shouted. "I don't know how!"

"You don't know a spell?" Arthur cried, his eyes wide.

"I wasn't expecting this! We don't have time!"

"But..." Arthur cast a glance at the men. "What can we...?"

Merlin's hand landed heavily on his shoulder. "Arthur," he said, and the once-prince's eyes snapped to his. "We need to retreat."

A second passed.

"We need to retreat before we get killed," Arthur agreed slowly, just as Elyan gave a cry of pain—he'd burned himself, but he'd defeated one.

Arthur turned his back to the window and shouted so everyone could hear, "_Retreat! We need to retreat!_"

Lancelot was trying to get to Arthur and Merlin, but his leg made him slow. Percival grabbed his arm and helped him, not pausing to let him favor the wound. He had no time for Lancelot's pain; none of them did. Without another second wasted, every man headed for the open window to make their escape.

Outside, everything was chaos. People screamed at the sight of them, and Merlin thought briefly he saw Gwen in the crowd before he was forced to turn and kill anther guard. There were four left. He didn't remember how many he'd killed and how many Elyan had killed. It didn't matter.

They ran through the streets, weapons still out. People dived out of the way, desperate not to get caught in the rush. Or in the magic—Elyan took out two with his staff, and then screamed aloud with the pain.

Merlin shot him a look, but the man could still run. The whole staff pulsed as though it would explode.

Two men left—no, one caught up with Arthur and tried to attack, so Merlin stabbed him from behind. One left, but instead of following, the man turned and ran back into the castle. The streets were near empty now, just a few stragglers and the escaping men.

_Why...? _They were almost to the gates! Did they want the people who had attacked to escape?

A sharp, tinny sound of string releasing reached Merlin's ears. It hit him like a brick—_arrows! There are archers at the top of the castle firing at us!_

Everyone was running faster now. They would be out of range if they just reached the gates. Percival and Lancelot separated for speed's sake, but Lancelot could still keep up. Elyan was in front of Percival, and Arthur and Merlin just before him. They all ran with everything they had, Percival and Elyan near the front, Lancelot in the back of the small, tightly clustered group.

Lancelot screamed not ten steps from the gates. It took a few seconds for everyone to hear and process it. Elyan never heard it at all; he was too busy trying to blow up the guard at the gate. Lucky Elyan.

Because Merlin did hear it. And Merlin looked back, just at the gate and almost out of range. And he would never forget what he saw. Lancelot lay on his stomach in the middle of the road, alone but for the rain of arrows on all sides. One arrow was in his back. The one that had knocked him over. Blood, bright red, leaked out of his back and leg, turning his silver chainmail crimson where it covered his body. His head was up, and he was staring right at Merlin, his eyes wide and scared.

Merlin changed direction without a moment's thought, but Arthur's hand latched onto his arm and stopped. "Careful!" Arthur ordered. "The arrows!"

"He needs my help!" Merlin yelled, pulling away.

An arrow sliced through the air and sliced across Lancelot's cheek as it cluttered to the courtyard. He gasped, his head jerking to the side, as his skin ripped. Blood poured out onto the tanned cheek, and a flash of white showed Merlin that the arrow had bit to his cheekbone. Lancelot's head dropped, his forehead to the slick cobblestones.

Merlin rushed forward, only vaguely aware that he was open to be shot down.

An arrow whistled through the air and buried itself in the back of Lancelot's neck. Merlin heard something pop, and suddenly the world seemed to turn sideways.

Hands grabbed Merlin and pulled him back. No! No, they couldn't; he needed to get to Lancelot, to help him!

"Stop it!" shouted a voice in his ear. "Stop struggling! He's dead, you can't get yourself killed; he's dead!"

No, no he wasn't dead! Merlin was screaming, trying to get away. He had to help. But strong arms were wrapped around his chest, holding him back. Someone more powerful than him wanted him to stop, but that didn't matter.

Lancelot's hadn't just died before his eyes. Not his friend. Not his good friend, Lancelot, the most noble of them all...

"Percival!" the voice shouted, "Come help me! Elyan! Gwaine!"

Merlin was still pulling. He knew he was screaming, trying to get back into range of those arrows, which were beginning to slow. But he was being pulled backwards, his feet sliding across the cobblestones even as he screamed and fought to push them forward, kicking pathetically, yells still pushing through his lips as tears rolled down his cheeks.

There was another voice in his ear. "I'm so sorry," said whoever it was, and then a sharp pain in his head made Merlin gasp. His body went limp, and as Merlin felt himself being pulled away from his friend in need, safely behind the gates, the world went black.

**End of Part Two**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_Hey-a, everyone! Well, I won't be back to updating regularly until November is over, but hopefully I'll get at least one chapter up before December. If not, I'll start Part Three: Assassins, then! _

_So, what did you think of this chapter? Sorry, Lancey, you had to go. _

_Okay, I promised myself that I would not nag about reviews. However, since there was really a drop last chapter, I thought I would just point out: Reviews are very encouraging to receive, but they also let me know what I'm doing right and wrong. So if you don't like something, telling me so is very helpful. And if you do, telling me that keeps me from second guessing myself. _

_That being said, before I forget, thank you unsigned reviewers and thank you to people who have PM turned off! _

_Oh, don't kill me for killing Lance so badly... Sorry!_

_~Kitty O of Awesomeness, PBO_


	13. Last Time

**Title:** Assassins

**Author:** Kitty O

**Rating:** T

* * *

><p><strong>Part Three: Assassins<strong>

**Chapter Thirteen: Last Time**

The castle with abuzz with talk about the mad escape that half the town's square had witnessed. Everyone was in complete awe. Except for when Morgause or Morgana passed by—then they were mute on the subject, and if asked, they had probably never even heard that it happened. Never mind that the window to the room where the Cup of Life was held had been broken. Never mind that there was a dead man in the streets.

Perhaps Gwen was the only one who wouldn't have denied knowing it. She couldn't have done that. It would have been like a betrayal to Lancelot to claim that nothing happen when she could see with her own two eyes that something had, and it had killed a man she'd held such feelings for.

Gwen had known something went on when she heard the yelling. She hadn't known what until Morgana swept into her room.

"Gwen," she greeted, going straight past the servant and to her dresser, grabbing a brush. Morgause had, after several failed attempts, managed to make her hair all grow back.

"Is something wrong, Your Majesty?"

"Yes," Morgana snarled, pulling the brush through her locks with such ferocity that Gwen feared she'd pull her lovely dark hair right from her head. "Yes, something is very wrong. But luckily the situation was remedied… But who knows what the repercussions will be?"

Gwen had the fleeting thought that Morgana was beginning to talk like Morgause. How long had that been going on? She had a feeling she should have noticed. She dropped her things without a thought and went to Morgana's side, taking the brush. "Let me. What happened?" She began to brush.

"Quickly, Gwen. It doesn't have to be perfect; I just need to look collected for when the guards go clean things up." She sighed as Gwen began to hurry, but took care not to hurt Morgana. "What happened is that those… _rebels _broke into the castle and tried to knock over the Cup of Life. I don't know how they knew that would destroy the army, but luckily the spell over the pedestal saved the Cup. They escaped when they realized it was useless."

Gwen tried not to give the sigh of relief like she wanted to. They escaped.

"Except one."

Gwen's heart stopped. "Except one?"

"Yes, the archers hit one right before they got out Camelot's gates. He's dead. _Ow,_ Guinevere, my hair! Be careful!"

Gwen felt like every single one of her internal organs just got coated in metal and were sagging their way down to her feet. Images flashed through her mind, images she didn't want to see. Arthur with an arrow in his back, blood dripping from his lips… Merlin with wounds along his legs, hair matted and crusty… Elyan with a hole in his heart, dead… Oh, heavens. Oh, heavens. Someone had died.

"Sorry. So sorry. And why are you going out, Your Highness?" Was that her voice speaking? She sounded so normal!

"I must see the body being taken away and the streets cleaned. Morgause says the people need to know that I am behind putting my enemies down so they will realize that my taking over the throne is permanent." Morgana moved away from Gwen when the brush stopped moving and swept from her room. Gwen stared after her for a moment, knowing full well that she should go back to her chores. But she felt too numb and heavy to do that. She needed to know which of her close ones had died from the archers' arrows.

Gwen followed Morgana swiftly, and thankfully the queen did not ask why. Apparently she wasn't interested. They went through the redecorated halls of the palace, feet clicking against the stone, matching Gwen's heartbeat. The serving maid kept her eyes on the floor, unable to look up. She was preparing herself. She knew she was about to hurt.

Morgana walked through the streets with ease. Arrows crunched beneath her feet. The peasants who had come out to see the spectacle hung back, creating a path for the magnificently dressed queen with her head held high. And Gwen followed behind like a terrified mouse in Morgana's shadow, and no one looked at her.

She kept her eyes on the ground, studying the straw and stone and dirt. Footprints and broken arrows. No blood yet.

Gwen knew they were there when the gates rose above her and Morgana stopped walking. Several guards were clustered around one area, bending down as though to pick up a body.

Then they saw Morgana standing there with her pale face tilted towards the blue sky and stepped quietly out of the way. A muted whimper made it out of Gwen's mouth, but no one else heard it. She hadn't looked yet. How could she look?

Morgana saw it. She didn't smile, particularly, just looked stony. So maybe it wasn't Arthur. _Let it not be Arthur. _But then, was it Merlin or Elyan? No. No, Gwen prayed it wasn't so.

A deep breath. Gwen looked, finally, and her eyes became transfixed on the gory sight. He was covered in blood; it was all over his chainmail, and his head was lolling to the side because the guards had jostled his body. He almost looked decapitated, because the river of blood that had come from where the arrow stuck out of his neck was painted across the rest of his throat. For all that, there was no mistaking him, and Gwen's loving heart never forgot a face like that—it was Lancelot. _When had Lancelot come?_

The world seemed to grind to a halt (she wasn't sure how it could go on, anyway). Her throat hurt. It hurt so bad she couldn't breathe. Her eyes were wet, and as the guards leaned over to pick up the corpse with cruel disregard and indifference to his fate, the water threatened to spill over. What right had they to not care that Lancelot was dead? Lancelot! Lancelot the brave man with warm hands and kind dark eyes!

_Dead._

She couldn't cry. She couldn't cry. Morgana would see and ask questions, and she had to pretend to be loyal to Morgana. But somehow, that didn't seem so important right now. Gwen pressed her hand to her face, pushing so hard she felt as if she'd bruise herself. Good, she hoped she did.

Lancelot was carried by Morgana. The queen sneered at him and rolled her eyes, and Gwen like her heart was being squeezed. There would be no hero's burial for Lancelot. He would be stuffed into an unmarked grave, probably, just to get the body out of the way.

And she thought she'd hated Morgana earlier.

Part of Gwen knew right then that she would remember where the grave was, and if it was at all possible, when Arthur was back on the throne, she'd make sure his remains were taken care of properly. (Oh, gods—remains of Lancelot. That was such an impossible thought.)

Then Lancelot was carried past Gwen. His hand was out, as though to reach for her touch, and his head was to the side. If his eyes had been open, he could have seen her for one last time. She wanted to reach out and take his cold hand, trying to reassure him, to pull him back to life. Morgana was watching, though, and she couldn't. Somehow that felt cruelest of all.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Morgause came up to Morgana.

"That was too close."

"I agree," said Morgana, who was still supervising the people who were cleaning up. "They can't get back in here again. If they can find a way in, then they might find a way past the enchantment on the Cup."

"It's dangerous to have our entire army living off one source, and we don't have the loyalty of those in Camelot or Cenred's men."

"You are suggesting mercenaries?" Morgana thought about this. "It's a good idea, but the money, Morgause? The people would not take a new tax kindly."

"You are the queen. They will do what you say."

"It might take a while. A week. I'll work on it, Morgause. I can't believe that Arthur got away, and Merlin too." Her voice seeped with anger.

"I know. Next time…"

"Don't let there be a next time, Morgause! They'll be after me next!" Morgana's eyes widened, and for a moment she looked terribly human. "We haven't even gotten rid of that goblin yet, and that's more than enough danger. This was not how it was supposed to be."

Morgause put a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder, her brown eyes caring. "Then we will take precautions to keep you safe. We must. A decoy, perhaps?"

"It is a good idea," Morgana agreed. "We will do that. But… for now…" She stopped and thought about it. She needed to do something now, because Camelot had just been attacked. She picked up her skirt, and it dragged smoothly across the straw-strewn ground. "For now I will go talk to Leon. If he and the knights still will not swear, perhaps it is time to execute them. But first, perhaps he would know where my half-brother might be hiding."

Morgause nodding, understanding her sister's need to do something and to get out her aggression. Morgana swirled around and stalked back through the streets of Camelot to her castle. It was _her_ castle, and she didn't want it taken away.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

The knights, Gaius, and Merlin were seated around the Round Table, but Lancelot's place was empty. Anytime anyone's eyes alighted on that place, they flitted away again. More than one person felt the ache.

The group was somber, staring before them with glazed eyes, trying to discover ways in their heads how that could have happened differently.

Every once in a while, Merlin's white hand would lift to his head where it hurt, and he would try not to rub it. Percival wanted to apologize for that, but he hadn't even gotten around to telling Merlin that he had been the one to knock him out yet. They hadn't told Merlin anything yet. They hadn't told him how they'd run away, holding him, or how Arthur carried him back. They hadn't said yet how Arthur wouldn't let anyone else take him for at least a mile of running, and how his arms had tightened nervously when they tried to take the small sorcerer away.

Actually, they might never tell him that part. They didn't think Arthur would like it, especially since he hadn't told Merlin himself. He hadn't referred to the boy by name either, not even while he was unconscious, so they could guess that everything was not all forgiven.

Everyone felt strangely lifeless. They had barely spoken since Lancelot had died on the streets of Camelot and they had failed.

Arthur was the first to speak. He looked up from the wood and to Merlin, and with a strange light in his eyes, he admitted, "I should have taken the sword that can kill the immortal soldiers when you offered it."

Merlin straightened. "Yes," he agreed. "Yes, you should have. But it probably wouldn't have made a difference."

Arthur flinched at the first part, and then shrugged. "Maybe it would not have."

There was another moment of grieving silence, but everyone was slowly realizing that when you were on run from the monarch, you really couldn't sit around doing nothing. They had to make plans now. What a weird thought—making plans after everything had fallen apart. Apparently the sun and moon would still rise, too.

"I'll have to find an enchantment to break the spell over the Cup," said Merlin.

Arthur nodded. "We probably won't get in the same way again, though. We'll have to go in fighting this time."

"Two groups was a good idea, though," said Gwaine, who for the life of him couldn't think of anything more useful to say.

"Another problem is that now Morgana and Morgause know we know about the Cup," said Elyan. "What if they move it?"

"They don't think we can get to it. They might not. But I don't think we should give them a chance."

Everyone looked at Merlin.

Arthur raised his eyebrows. "You think we should attack soon?"

"As soon as possible," agreed Merlin. "They'll think we're too weak to attack at once. We might catch them by surprise. And we won't give them time to change things around."

Everyone nodded at that.

"Sire," said Gaius, clearing his throat. "I was discussing with Merlin not too long ago the possibility that Morgana might not be satisfied for long with just her immortal guards."

"What do you mean?"

Merlin explained. "We're worried she might try to strengthen her position by not just relying on immortal guards. They aren't very smart—they haven't managed to get to us yet. And if she thinks we can take them all out with a single blow, she's even less likely to be happy with them. If we give her that kind of time, she will have people which less than half a dozen men can't take down."

"I understand your point." Arthur nodded. "We'll attack _soon_."

Merlin chewed on his lip as he thought about the next part. "Well, that's not the whole point."

Sorcerer was trying to take over again. For once, Arthur couldn't find the pettiness inside himself to care. "What is it?"

"What if we take away those soldiers and she just comes back? What if Morgause shows up on the scene? I don't…" Merlin didn't like what he was thinking. That was obvious; he kept shifting in his seat. Every eye was on him, and he didn't like it. "I don't think we'll be safe, that we can say we've taken back Camelot until… Until we've removed the central point which holds this new monarchy together."

Arthur's eyebrows creased. "What are you talking about?"

The rest – except Gaius – looked confused. They repeated Arthur's question. But at last Percival put it together. Perhaps his brain was clearer than the rest even through his sadness for Lancelot.

"He wants to kill her," Percival said flatly, no accusation in his voice, but Merlin cringed as though he'd yelled it.

Arthur's eyes were wide, now. Wide and blue and actually a little shocked, as though the thought that the woman he'd been raised with might be coldly killed had never crossed his mind. "You think we need to assassinate Morgana to get Camelot back?" he repeated with a dead voice, staring at Merlin, asking for honesty.

Merlin's mouth moved but no sound came out. He chewed his lip, gathered his courage, took a deep breath, and he nodded affirmative.

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><p><strong>AN:** _I'm not sure if the reviews last chapter were because I was gone so long, because I killed Lancelot, or because it was the end of part two. Whatever, I was really surprised and overjoyed by the response to it!_

_To those who asked—yeah, there is a reason it had to be Lancelot who died. I don't just hate him that much. And I did warn you people in the A/N of Chapter One that there would be death! _

_Anyway, I wish I could say I was back, but I'm still busy for this November… And I might be for the first part of December, too. Nonetheless, I will never abandon this story and will valiantly attempt to get a chapter up every week of December. So, I hope you liked it. Please tell me what you thought, if it was good, bad, whatever… How I got the grieving-for-Lancelot parts. Excuse/point out mistakes, I was a bit rushed. _

_~Kitty O of Awesomeness, PBO_


	14. Last Resort

**Title:** Assassins

**Author:** Kitty O

**Rating:** T

* * *

><p><strong>Part Three: Assassins<strong>

**Chapter Fourteen: Last Resort**

Arthur felt like he'd shut down, like his body didn't work anymore. His first thought was to say no. That they weren't assassins and wouldn't become them. But Arthur stopped himself before the words came out. He had to think. He knew he had to sit back and think; he couldn't afford, as a prince and future king, to just blurt things out, even among these people.

He sat back hesitantly, letting what Merlin had suggested wash through his brain. Killing Morgana would get her off the throne and keep her from coming back. After all, execution might await her anyway if he took her off the throne and put his father on without killing her.

Wasn't this a little like what they'd been saying the whole time? But somehow he felt that there was a difference. He couldn't name it, but he could feel it—he could almost taste it. He felt the anger rising up his throat, but forced himself to take a deep breath and think. He had to think this over, look at every side.

First, he looked at Merlin, who was now watching him warily and wearily. Why had Merlin just suggested this now?

Arthur looked Merlin over well and good for perhaps the first time since he'd discovered his manservant used magic. He saw Merlin's sad eyes and the way his head seemed to hang. That demeanor would be gone before long, if he knew Merlin at all. _Why had Merlin suggested assassination? _Thatwas harsher than what he'd come to expect from Merlin.

But then, so was magic. Merlin wasn't as harmless as he used to think. He'd suggested it because it was practical. It was hard enough to get in there once, and Merlin thought that removing Morgana would make things easier. It _would_, and Arthur knew it. He was worried that the longer this took the more impossible it would be. But that wasn't the only reason. Lancelot had something to do with it, too.

_Revenge? _Arthur wondered briefly. _Probably a bit about that, too. _

More than that, though, Merlin knew what Arthur was beginning to realize. That last attempt to get to the Cup had been a failure. A miserable, _miserable_ failure. They'd done nothing productive, and they'd lost a man. And Merlin – and Gaius too, from the way he was looking now – knew that if they had to do this again, they'd probably lose more men. And the more it was repeated, the weaker they would grow. They just couldn't afford to lose men.

And then, quite out of nowhere, Arthur came upon the realization that it hurt Merlin to talk about Morgana like she was the enemy, too. He looked used to it, more used to it than Arthur, who still felt like he'd been freshly beaten by the news, but it hurt him like an old pain in the tooth that had been so around so long that it was hardly even noticed anymore.

Arthur came to his decision.

He stood up. All the knights – plus the sorcerer and Gaius – were looking at him expectantly.

"I agree with you that we can't keep doing this," he said slowly. "We have to make our next strike the last one. And we have to aim for Morgana or we can't guarantee that we'll get Camelot back." He ran his finger along the wood of the table. "However, we will be aiming to capture. If we can take Morgana and hold her without killing her, we will. We won't kill unless we can't get her to stop fighting or in defense. Is that understood?"

Everyone nodded, even Merlin. Arthur nodded in response, satisfied. He sat down.

"Now, we need a plan. They'll be on the watch for us now, and Morgana shares most of the knowledge I have as to the tunnels or secret ways. If she didn't, she could find them from Geoffrey. And we have no way to know what he would and wouldn't tell her. Our only advantage is surprise and speed."

Everyone seemed to agree with this, but Elyan piped up, "Speed?"

Arthur pointed to Merlin, who looked alarmed. "He can scry Morgana's position. They won't expect us to head right for her and know exactly where she is. Our disadvantage is that we are outnumbered and that only two weapons we have can kill their men. Elyan's staff and the sword which I will be wielding. So the rest of you will have to stay near the two of us." He kept his face set in the leader mask he often wore.

"We may not all come back," he said. "Some of us may get killed. If you are not willing to risk that, then don't come. I'll understand if you want to back out." He looked around at everyone.

They stared back at him, thinking it over, or so he imagined.

Gwaine spoke up first. "What?" he said, outraged. "Give up, after we're right in the middle of things? I wouldn't dream of it."

Elyan agreed. "I'd be glad to help, Sire. We can't leave Camelot."

Percival nodded. "Lancelot didn't die so we could give up on Camelot when we're needed," he said, since he had the feeling they expected him to say something.

Gaius said, "Any help that I can be, Sire, I will gladly."

There was a pause where Arthur looked at Merlin, who was looking around the table like something else was supposed to happen. Suddenly he realized everyone was staring at him and jumped. His eyebrows creased, and he looked at Arthur.

"Well?" prompted the once prince.

Merlin looked surprised. "Of course I'm going to help," he said in a tone that was almost offended. "I thought that was understood."

Despite himself, Arthur smiled.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

"He does know," Merlin said to Gaius as he drew away later to grab his scrying bowl, "that Morgana will never stop fighting? Whichever way we approach it, the result will be the same."

"The difference is in the mind," Gaius told him.

Merlin sighed. He understood that. It was the difference between murder and killing as a last resort, or in self-defense. Merlin didn't want to kill her either. He'd done it once, and that had been horrific enough; he had no desire to try it again. But he also had no desire to let her rule Camelot.

Grabbing the water-filled bowl, he put it on the table near the back of the old castle that the others had agreed to let him have for this purpose. It was a cobwebbed room, and an old table, but better than nothing.

Gaius watched as he spoke the magic words, his eyes flashing that telltale gold, and he leaned forward, whispering Morgana's name into the bowl of water, letting his breath create a shimmery disturbance in the liquid. His eyes grew wide as he began to see things in the water, and he watched for a good minute or so.

Suddenly he jerked back and blinked his eyes to get used to seeing the real world again. Then he looked at Gaius and said, "Well. That's not good."

\-_-BREAK-_-/

"Decoy," said Arthur slowly.

"They've wizened up," Merlin agreed.

"And you have no way of telling which Morgana is the real one?"

"No," Merlin said. "Scrying doesn't work that way. Both showed up because I asked for Morgana. One must be an enchantment that looks like Morgana."

"And they are in separate places?"

"Yes."

"Probably all the time," Arthur said mournfully. "And doubtless neither of them sleeps in her room, so we can't tell that way. Clever of them," he added grudgingly.

Merlin wasn't feeling so admiring. "Yes," he said. "But if we have to attack tomorrow at the latest, and speed is supposed to be one of our advantages, then we need to know which Morgana is real."

Arthur sighed. He was sitting at the Round Table, as he'd taken to doing when he needed to think. The knights were drifting about somewhere, and Gaius was doing some research with limited resources as best he could, and wishing he had his book.

"We don't, though," Arthur said. "So we need a new plan."

Merlin nodded. "That's quite brilliant," he said, sounding sincere. "How did you come to that conclusion?"

Arthur glared. "Listen, _sorcerer…_"

Merlin raised his eyebrows, waiting for Arthur's comeback with a smile on his face. Arthur read the look correctly and his eyes narrowed.

"Nobody," he said at last, "likes a clever-clogs." Merlin snorted, and Arthur let him, thinking. "Well," he said at last. "There's nothing for it, then. We'll have to split up."

"Split up? Into two groups?"

"One group for each Morgana. We'll do you and me, and then Elyan, Gwaine, and Percival. That's a weapon that can kill in each group."

"Why does our group only have two people, though?" asked Merlin, worried.

"I'm assuming you can keep yourself alive with your sorcerer ways. And then the other three can watch each other."

"It might work," agreed Merlin. "It might. Or we might all be slaughtered."

Arthur nodded. "I know," he said. "But I don't think there's a better choice." He swallowed. A voice in his head persisted that he would be sending all his men to their deaths, but he shook it away. He knew the dangers. They knew the dangers. If this plan made the most sense, they had to go with it.

Merlin looked unsure. Arthur sighed. "Just… bring the rest of them in here. We'll tell them about the change, and then we'll start out."

"What, tonight?"

"We'll camp outside tonight," Arthur said. "We want to attack early."

"I'll get them and then go get my scrying bowl, then, should I?"

Arthur nodded and put his head in his hands. "We'll need it."

Merlin left to do as he was told, but not without one last worried look at his master. _If this fails, Arthur may die of guilt, _he decided. Then, lifting his chin, he went out to fetch the others so that Arthur could tell them the news. _We just can't fail then. _

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Morgana leaned back in the chair in her new room. "How do you like my decoy, then, Gwen?"

Gwen started. That might be the first time Morgana had asked her opinion since she'd become queen.

"It looks just like you, milady," she said. "It's quite unnerving."

Morgana's dark eyebrow went up her forehead, and suddenly the room dropped a few degrees. Literally. Gwen wasn't imagining it—she sensed a blatant and pointless use of magic. "Milady?" asked Morgana.

Gwen flinched and turned red. "Your Majesty. Your Highness. I'm sorry… I'm sorry, force of habit, I forgot…"

Morgana's features warmed. She'd only wanted Gwen to stutter. "Don't forget again," she said. "You may leave."

And Gwen did, in quite a hurry, feeling like she'd been slapped—angry and hurt and a little scared. She scurried like a mouse through the hall, and wondered to herself if she would actually become a rodent if she kept this up much longer. _Don't be ridiculous, _she scolded herself. _You've behaved this way all your life. _

But she'd never hated someone before in her life. Hate. Gwen still felt that inside her heart, coiled up and cold, and it terrified her. She avoided it as though it was a sickness that Gaius had warned her about. She couldn't believe that she, _Gwen, _was even contemplating hating someone!

Shivering, she continued down the hall, deftly sidestepping as a little green man ran by her, cackling like mad towards the dungeons. He was becoming a daily sight, the goblin, and though the servants were supposed to give chase, they'd largely given up. She never really bothered herself. The goblin, she felt, was somehow like Merlin's gift to Camelot, and she didn't plan on doing anything about it.

The green man with a blue painted little head loped down the hall and into the dungeons. A second later, Gwen heard a large crash and jumped. _Oh, dear, _she thought.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

The goblin didn't say anything at first, just showed up at Leon's cell door and threw him the key. Leon stared at the man with some horror, and then at the key with bemusement. He stood from his uncomfortable cot, wincing as his bruises pulled.

"What are you doing?" he said, then with disgust, "Who are you?"

The little man grinned. "I'm helping the prisoners escape!" he chirped. And then, laughing, he bounded away.

Leon stood and replayed that in his head for a moment or two. And then he wondered if it would be stupid to let little green men help him.

But Leon was not one to look at gift horse in the mouth. He dived for the key.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_This chapter was a bit hard to write, but it had to get out! Hopefully next chapter there will be some actual attacking, but I'm not sure. I'm thinking this story has about two chapters left. Maybe three. I don't know if that's good or bad, but I should finish before Christmas!_

_Review if you please. _

_~Kitty O of Awesomeness, PBO_


	15. Last Chance

**Title:** Assassins

**Author:** Kitty O

**Rating:** T

* * *

><p><strong>Part Three: Assassins<strong>

**Chapter Fifteen: Last Chance**

Leon ducked through the hall of the dungeon, eyes out for any guards other than the one the green man had somehow dispatched. (Leon didn't even want to know.) He knew where the other knights were; they hadn't gotten their own cells, so they would all be in roughly the same place. He supposed he should help them escape if the creature was too busy letting the real criminals out of the cells.

But as he rounded a corner towards his comrades' cells, he drew back.

The guards were cloistered around the cells with the knights as if their lives depended on guarding them; meanwhile, the green man danced around the guards, trying to find away in. There was lots of shouting, and other guards rushed to get the creature, but he moved so as to be out of their grip every time they grabbed.

One of the knights inside the cell spotted Leon standing there, looking a little like a fish, and Sir Pellias motioned desperately for the other knight to run for it. Leon hesitated, though… He didn't want to leave them.

"Hey, you!"

Leon winced and turned to face the man coming up behind him. A guard. Well, there was no other choice now.

The man came at him recklessly, knowing that Leon couldn't hurt him. He swung his sword carelessly, and that allowed Leon to step out of the way. Then, with a bit of a flourish that he'd practiced but never thought he'd used, he grabbed the careless man's hand and twisted, wrenching his sword from his grasp.

There were some downsides to be immortal, he decided as the man, careless as ever, staggered. _Overconfidence_.

He was out-numbered, and there was nothing else Leon could do. So instead, he did as Sir Pellias wanted and ran for it. After all, he couldn't help anybody if he was captured.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

The sun hadn't risen yet. Arthur didn't like being up before the sun rose. But this trip, he recognized, was slightly more important than his personal comfort, so he didn't complain. Not out loud.

Merlin had been up longer than the rest of them. He'd been fooling around with the scrying bowl when Arthur awoke and started ordering the knights around, telling them to get as close to Camelot as they could without being seen.

"They might have men posted watching the woods now, so be careful," he ordered. "And you, don't break the bowl or something."

Merlin smiled tightly. "I wouldn't dare. Right now?"

"I wouldn't put it past you to drop it or something."

"I'd just catch it with magic."

Arthur felt his smile fade a bit. For about half a second there, he'd forgotten about Merlin being a sorcerer. Or maybe he hadn't forgotten… But for a bit, it hadn't been important, and he'd forgotten that Merlin _shouldn't_ be a sorcerer. He shook the unsettled feeling off.

"Okay, we'll move closer," Arthur had said, and they had.

Command. Command was such a stressful thing; it gave the leader all the responsibility for anything that might happen. Sometimes Arthur wished he didn't have it, but then, he couldn't think of anyone he'd rather have in charge.

Now they just waited for the sun to rise. They would try to get into Camelot just a little before sunrise, when the guards were the least alert, and be at the castle when the sun was rising. That way they'd be able to see, and hopefully it would be to the enemies like waking up to find the rebels waiting.

"We need to know where she'll be in half an hour," said Arthur. "Can you do that, sorcerer? It'll be easier than bringing the scrying bowl with us."

"I'll have to tweak the spell a bit," said Merlin, and seeing Arthur's nervous look, he added, "Don't worry. I'm good at that."

Arthur left him to it.

He went over to his men. "Is everyone ready?"

Gwaine nodded. "Naturally." Percival smiled quickly and rubbed his hands together.

Elyan looked down at his staff. "I'm a little worried about the staff," he admitted. "It's hard to not blow up too many too fast, but last time it nearly exploded and took me with it."

Arthur patted him on the shoulder. "It might just take more practice. Or maybe it's because it's magic that it's difficult." He looked over his shoulder, hoping irrationally that Merlin wouldn't hear him say that. "Just be careful with it. Don't overuse it. Don't forget my sword will do the same thing much more easily, so it's not like the whole attack rests on you."

Elyan swallowed and nodded, looking a bit more at ease.

"Also," said Arthur, "if worst comes to worst, he'll use his magic. We're trying to keep it hidden from Morgana, but…" He shrugged. "So don't worry about the staff too much, just be careful."

"Thank you," said Elyan, and Arthur drifted away.

He went back to Merlin. "Are you ready?"

"It would have been easier," Merlin said, "if we hadn't left Gaius behind, but yes, I think I have it." He picked up the bowl, which was still filled with water. He'd been careful not to spill it. Looking at it, he smiled, "I can just imagine Nimueh stooped over this, watching us," he said. "It's probably how she knew I stopped the plague, for one thing. This must have been useful."

Arthur sighed. Since Merlin had revealed his secret, the prince – once-prince – was beginning to get used to the fact that Merlin would continually bring up instances that Arthur didn't remember happening. Or instances that he remembered, but not the way Merlin said they actually happened. _As soon as I figure out what I'm going to do with him, we two are going to have a very long talk. _

"Just get on with it," he said.

"Right," said Merlin. "This is difficult. I need to read her mind and her future, somewhere else, and I have to do it before something changes and I need to see the time right before we arrive. This might not even be accurate, but…"

"I swear if you don't get on with it, I'll feed you to my dogs," said Arthur rather pleasantly.

Merlin got on with it. His eyes flashed gold as he said the words, and a rush of magic seemed to swirl about him as he stared into the water to see what only he could. Arthur watched anxiously but also rather curiously. He'd never seen Merlin do this before.

After a few seconds, his manservant returned to normal and he looked up with a smile.

"One Morgana will be by the stables, but with guards around her, from what I could see. The other will be in the third floor corridor… The one with the large windows and the statue."

"Do either of them have Gwen or Morgause with her? That could give us a hint…"

"They both did. I think Gwen and Morgause are part of the fake one's enchantment."

"Very well," said Arthur, though he felt a spark of outrage at his Guinevere's form being copied. But that was ridiculous, and he pushed it aside. She'd probably given her permission anyway. "We'll take the one in the castle. Elyan, Percival, and Gwaine will head to the stables."

Merlin nodded and put his scrying bowl behind a tree, emptying out the water. "I'll come back for it," he said by way of explanation. "Are you ready?"

Arthur nodded, feeling his nerves tightening in his stomach. "As I'll ever be." He paused. "I don't think I'll ever get used to attacking Camelot."

"That's a good thing," Merlin assured him. He stood straight and brushed off his clothes.

Arthur nodded, and looked at the east. "I think we should start going now," he said. "Men!" he barked, and everyone drew their swords. "Let's move!"

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Leon ducked through Camelot. The guards were everywhere—a ridiculous amount of men scurrying about, trying to protect what they'd stolen. Leon guessed that perhaps they'd upped security since yesterday. Morgana had told him all about it. Well, she'd yelled all about it. Often when she was younger he'd noted that her temper could make her quite childish and unpleasant.

Leon stripped off his red cloak. He didn't want to do it, but it stuck out like a sore thumb in pre-morning Camelot. The chain mail was bad enough; he wouldn't even be wearing that if walking around in his underclothes wouldn't be so suspicious. But he couldn't wear the red cloak now.

It nearly hurt physically to leave it laying there in a sad little pile, just like Camelot itself, but he forced himself to do it. And then, when the next batch of soldiers ran by, he skittered across the open area and ducked behind another wall. He needed to get out of Camelot and find his prince. He would find Arthur and help the man to whom he actually owed allegiance.

Just then, he heard screaming and hollering coming from the gate of the city. His head jerked up, and his eyes narrowed.

_I may have just found him, _he thought, and took off in a run. He heard several men shout behind him and sighed. If he had to rid himself of these pests, he couldn't go straight to the gate.

He hoped nothing horrible that he could've helped avoid happened while he was running around.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

The easiest thing would have been to slit the throats of the guards who stood immediately outside the gates of the castle before they saw the attackers coming.

But Merlin was smart enough not to observe this to Arthur, who was still a bit touchy about the whole "we're not assassins" thing. Understandably. Instead, he let Arthur charge the first man, and when the man didn't react quickly enough, Arthur slew him. The other man was dispatched quickly.

"They aren't very good," observed Gwaine.

"They probably aren't used to being immortal. I imagine it changes perception. But it isn't skill we need to worry about. It's numbers," Merlin replied sagely.

"We're in," Elyan interrupted, and they were. The whole group slipped into Camelot as silently as they were able, looking around.

Soldiers. Soldiers loitering everywhere. They'd upped their defenses.

Arthur hunched over and just walked quickly, and his men followed him. They weren't disguised this time (there hadn't been time), so it was only a matter of seconds before…

"Hey!" came the scream. "There they are!"

The people in the streets gave shouts and dived out of the way, concerned for their families, as the soldiers hanging around all rushed forward towards the walking – now running – knights.

Arthur looked at Merlin with wide eyes. "It's suddenly occurred to me that this was a bad idea," he puffed. "Wasn't it yours?"

Before Merlin could reply – and he was about to reply, something about how he hadn't known they would up the defenses, but that they'd gotten in, hadn't they? And besides, they hadn't failed yet, had they? – Arthur looked back and called, "How many are following?"

"Five," responded someone.

"Alright," said Arthur. They wouldn't outrun them any further. It was only a few more minutes to the castle, but that was too long. He stopped and held up his sword.

The other knights responded, but Percival and Gwaine got near the back while Elyan and Merlin lingered closer to Arthur.

The men came at them quickly, but when Arthur's blow to the stomach left one in shiny strands on the ground, they became more cautious around him. And then Elyan blew two that were standing close together up, and the remaining two became visibly nervous. One went for Elyan, wanting to hit him before he could fire again. The other went for Arthur but kept his distance, fearful of Arthur's swordsmanship.

The first would have killed Elyan there, but suddenly Percival was there, holding him off while Elyan prepared to fire again.

"Percival, out of the way!" he snapped, and when Percival stepped away, Elyan took aim and let off another blast. He winced at the heat in his hands as that soldier died.

Arthur got parried and struck, but the soldier blocked it. He stabbed out, and caught the soldier in the shoulder. He promptly exploded.

Arthur caught his breath and looked around at all the staring people. Seeing the soldiers dead, some of the citizens gave a short cheer, and Arthur grinned. He looked quite savage for a second.

"More will be coming," he said. "Let's go."

"Uh… More are coming," Merlin noted. "That's got to be fifty men."

Arthur's eyes went wide. "How…?"

"They recovered faster than we thought," said Elyan, hefting his staff up and preparing to use it.

"We can't avoid them," said Gwaine. "So I vote we go for them."

"No time for voting," said Arthur. And indeed there wasn't, because then the men – soldiers filling the street and looking like a wave about to wash the pitiful rebellion away. And suddenly they were fighting for their lives again. Every man did his best to hold off whoever attacked until Arthur or Elyan could dispatch them. Merlin gave up on keeping himself secret and devoted his time to using magic to hold soldiers still until Arthur or Elyan had the time to get rid of them.

But as Elyan stepped back and took in the whole picture, he realized that they were overwhelmed. It had been a good plan, but they hadn't seen this coming.

"There's no hope," he muttered to himself. They would have to be able to get rid of all of the man at once, but…

Wait.

His heart clenched, but his eyes grew wide and he felt a sudden burst of adrenaline. That would work.

"Merlin!" he yelled.

The sorcerer looked at him.

"We can't fight them off," Elyan yelled. "Freeze as many of the ones in front as you can… I've got an idea."

Merlin nodded without a second thought and set about doing that. If he stretched himself thin, he could freeze perhaps fifteen men, but not for more than perhaps thirty seconds.

"Arthur! Gwaine! Percival!" They couldn't turn and look, but they were listening. "Run to either side! Go where you were supposed to… I have an idea!"

And as the men they were fighting began to freeze mid-stroke, the knights ran around the left, towards the stables, and Arthur grabbed Merlin – who had gone pale and shaky – and dragged him towards the right. Elyan faced the men in front of him, who were all trying to push past the frozen guards to get at him. He swallowed, pushed down his fear, and got ready. He could do this. He knew he could.

Merlin staggered when only Elyan was left standing in the street with the soldiers, since all the people had run far away. Arthur looked back at Merlin with concern.

"I… can't… hold this any…" the sorcerer gasped, bent double with creases of pain on his face.

They needed to keep running, but Merlin couldn't, so Arthur lowered his sword to try and support Merlin, but Merlin could barely move a step.

"Okay, release them!" ordered Elyan, and in relief, Merlin did.

All the soldiers, even the ones they hadn't frozen, surrounded Elyan at once. Arthur and Merlin whipped around to see what "plan" Elyan had been talking about.

Elyan held the staff up high, one gem in a sea of metal. It glowed—not just the gem at the top, but the whole staff.

Arthur was bewildered for a second, but Merlin's eyes grew wide at once.

"What is he—?"

"Oh, no! Ely—!"

Neither finished their cries before the roar reached their ears, and the air pushed out with an explosion of light. Elyan disappeared – as did all of the soldiers – behind the light, but the explosion didn't reach past the enemies.

Arthur flinched away and covered his face, but Merlin couldn't bring himself to move. His eyesight flickered with the after-picture the light had left in his eyes.

"He must have really had that mastered," Merlin said. There was nothing else to say.

Arthur grabbed his arm. "What…?"

"He blew them all up," whispered Merlin in awe as the lights aftereffects faded away and the sight of the explosion came into view.

There was nothing left but pale shrapnel and one singed, black-skinned corpse.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _I'm sure you all hate me right now. Sorry! Again, I warned you in the first chapter of the story that there would be death. But don't worry… There won't be too much death. It's not like I'm going to take out all of our good guys. I really won't. It's the plot! I can't help it! The plot and the muse are horrible masters! *cries pathetically*_

_Review?_


	16. Last Hope

**Title:** Assassins

**Author:** Kitty O

**Rating:** T

* * *

><p><strong>Part Three: Assassins<strong>

**Chapter Sixteen: Last Hope**

Gwen saw it happen. She was watching from the window, her eyes wide in their sockets as her brother was surrounded by men, and then—gone. A flash that caused her to have to cover her eyes, wincing in pain from the bright light, and then when she looked up, there were only fragments of guards…

And her brother's body.

He was dead. Strangely calm, she observed to herself that Morgana had taken another loved one from her. She felt weirdly numb, not at all like she had when she'd seen Lancelot's body.

_This was just too sudden, _she thought. The way she felt right now reminded her of the time she'd fallen down the stairs in the castle; the moment she'd hit the ground at the bottom, she'd seized up, knowing that the pain was going to come and that it was going to be overwhelming. And yet, for a few seconds, she'd felt nothing at all while it all set it.

Morgana came up next to her, eyebrows creased. "What happened?" she said, and looked out the window of the hall where Gwen was standing. She gasped and shook her head. "How…? Magic?" After a moment, she shook her head to herself. "So the high and mighty Arthur resorts to magic." She raised her voice. "We're being attacked, Morgause. Send the decoy to the stables; they'll be able to see her there and avoid the castle. Magic or no, our guards will overtake so few men easily."

"You are thinking strategically, Sister," replied Morgause. "We shall do that." She gestured for a guard to come so she could give her orders.

"And what's that?" Morgana wondered, squinting at the cadaver. "Looks like they may have lost their magic, then."

She turned away.

When Gwen had burned herself on hot water once, she'd noted that it had been so hot that it had felt cold for a second. Her chest felt a little like that now. Still numb, she turned to follow Morgana as she went towards Morgause.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Merlin felt like he might never stop staring. "That… wasn't supposed to happen," he whispered his denial. He hadn't known Elyan like he had Lancelot, but in the past few days of hiding together, he'd come to consider Gwen's brother a friend. And he hadn't been supposed to die. No one was supposed to die; not on their side, anyway.

"No," agreed Arthur, latching onto Merlin's wrist. "But we're stuck now. We can't go back; we have to press on, because more men are coming. Come on."

Merlin let himself be dragged away, but still his eyes were glued onto the spot where'd he'd last seen Elyan alive; several meters from where the body was now. Elyan wasn't supposed to sacrifice himself! Only Merlin was allowed to do that!

He rebuked himself immediately for that stupid thought, but he couldn't help it. He wasn't used to other people doing stupid things for the cause. That used to be his job and his alone, and he didn't like when other people tried: he always knew _he_ would survive – probably… well, maybe. But Elyan…

He couldn't mourn Elyan now. He didn't have time. He had to keep his head in the game and follow Arthur, try to find Morgana.

He had to end this. This plan was their last hope; their last chance.

He turned around and rushed after Arthur into the castle.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Percival and Gwaine saw it, but for a minute they didn't believe it.

It wasn't until after a good half a minute that they seemed to wake up and realize that they were still on their mission, and there would be more soldiers coming. But all the same, for all the dangers pressing on them, they didn't want to move just yet.

Percival was no stranger to loss, and he wouldn't lie; he'd lost people much closer to him than Elyan. But still he felt it like a blow reverberating in his gut. Percival had always been steady, not prone to panicking. He was used to being the largest and the one who kept himself under control, since he'd always had to. But when he looked at the big picture, he had to admit he felt a bit shaken.

Looking at Gwaine, he asked, "What now?"

Gwaine looked around. "We head towards the stables."

"We can't kill the soldiers; the prince has the sword…"

"I know," said Gwaine. "Then we'll just have to try and avoid the soldiers for as long as we can."

Percival didn't say how hard that would be, and he didn't point out that chances were they would both die before they even reached Morgana. He just nodded, because he couldn't think of a better plan than Gwaine's. And he knew Merlin would tell him that at this point – when Gwaine's plans seemed like the best ones – then things were really desperate.

They rushed together through Camelot. Percival had never been there before, but Gwaine had, and he knew the way to the stables, which weren't far. There were no soldiers chasing them just yet, but Gwaine took pains to duck behind walls and buildings and take twisted roads as often as he could. "We're trying to be fast, but nothing's slower than being dead," he told Percival, who agreed completely. "Usually I wouldn't be so careful," he added, "but…"

"They _are_ immortal," Percival said with a nod. He understood. Gwaine didn't have to explain his sudden uncharacteristic responsibility to him.

Gwaine nodded. "We're close. I think I see her…"

"There she is, but she's surrounded by soldiers."

Gwaine shrugged. "Let's be quick."

And with that, they ran the last few steps and threw themselves at their target.

The guards reacted violently, fighting back against the two men for all they were worth. There were four unkillable guards. Two very killable knights. Morgana in the middle and Gwen – if it was Gwen – wide eyed on the side. Morgause was nearby, but she didn't use magic… Maybe that was because she wasn't real?

They fought anyway, trying to get past the knights to try to grab Morgana and see if she was substantial. And if she was and she tried to kill them… Well, Gwaine wasn't the sort to hurt a woman, but after Lancelot and Elyan he wasn't feeling too squeamish about the thought at the moment.

It seemed for a second like they wouldn't be able to push past the guards, and would either be cut down or forced to run. They fought harder, nearly pushing their opponents into the stables. Morgana looked like she might duck inside of the stables, but didn't for some reason—maybe fear of being cornered. Gwaine almost wished she would so they could torch the place. Gwen was pressed up against the wall of the stables, breathing hard, and the guards still fought.

Then, with a wordless roar, a figure emerged from the side of them and joined in the fray, swinging his sword. For a moment they feared they would be killed, but the figure seemed to be on their side, and fought against the guards.

Percival didn't recognize the man in chainmail, but after giving him a glance Gwaine recognized Leon even without his cloak. The new knights didn't acknowledge his presence yet, though; they were slightly busy. The three of them fought the deathless guards, and eventually Gwaine saw his chance.

He side-stepped while he swung at the guard's unprotected side, and the man had to move to get out of the way and try to hit Gwaine's middle, which he had intentionally left open. But Gwaine wasn't there long enough for the blow to land: he slipped through the space between guards and was by Morgana's side in a second. He latched onto her arm, but to his dismay his hand encountered something swishy and then, with little resistance, passed right through Morgana's shoulder and out of her back.

He hissed in dismay. "She's the decoy!" he announced, pushing into the back of an immortal soldier and escaping the circle of men before they turned on him.

Percival's head shot up in understanding. Leon didn't know what that meant, but he understood somehow that it was time for another retreat.

Gwaine shoved a soldier down into his companion to set them both to stumbling. Fake-Gwen was whimpering faintly – which somehow seemed unlike the Gwen Gwaine had known for such a short time – and Fake-Morgause was cursing at them like she was about to use magic.

"We need to hide," Percival decided.

Leon looked surprised but followed the other two as they sped away from the scene with soldiers on their heels.

"Until they leave and we can get to Arthur, yeah," agreed Gwaine. "Sir Leon, do you know…?"

Leon didn't waste a second thinking. "I know a place. This way." He switched directions and ducked behind a house, hoping to lose the followers. Gwaine and the large man without sleeves that Leon didn't know were right behind him.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

She was right where Merlin had said she would be.

"Of course, why would I lie?" Merlin snapped shortly as they approached, weapons out. Merlin had managed to get a sword somewhere.

Arthur shrugged but didn't mention that he was still having qualms about whether Merlin was actually on their side; he figured Merlin could figure that out on his own.

Morgana heard them coming. She was standing looking out the window, with Gwen hovering behind her with her brow furrowed and Morgause talking to the queen. Morgana had a crown on her head, and the sight of it hurt Arthur's heart.

Morgana swept about regally, her long skirt moving around her legs and her hair long and full. But Merlin could see above her lip where she'd had to shave the moustache. He really liked that goblin right now.

"My dear half-brother," she simpered. Merlin stayed slightly behind Arthur as they got closer, as was appropriate, but he wished he could see the prince's face. Gwen took a step back when they stepped forward, but the relief was painted all over her face.

"Morgana," Arthur said. "Give up. We don't want to hurt you, so if you'll just surrender…"

Morgana laughed, a deeper sound than normal. "Arthur," she said, voice thick with some kind of emotion – probably mirth, "it's just you two. And I have a whole army… An immortal army. How can you come here and ask _me _to surrender?"

"I don't want to hurt you," Arthur repeated stubbornly, still walking slowly, as though towards an angry animal.

Morgana smirked, and Merlin wanted to swipe the look from her face. It was okay when she sent that look at _him_, because she had reason to hate _him_—but she shouldn't look like that at Arthur, because Merlin could tell from the way he stiffened that it hurt him. She turned to the side and called in a clear voice, "Guards!"

Three guards came running, immediately launching themselves at Arthur, since he was first. Their mistake. They never even saw it coming until they were nothing but pools of dust upon the floor.

For half a second, Morgana looked disconcerted. She took a step back, and Arthur kept coming. He was now only several yards away.

"Magic, Arthur?" she said with disgust. "You are just like your father—such a hypocrite."

That was true, but Arthur didn't feel the need to acknowledge it at the moment. He already knew he was a hypocrite… He'd thought so himself many nights since he had spared Merlin's life. But it was all for Camelot.

Arthur strode forward and tried to take her by the arm. She reacted, yanking away. Her eyes flashed gold—as uncontrollable as always. Arthur crashed back, nearly thrown into the wall. He flinched at the pain of the force hitting him.

Merlin ran forward to check on him, and that's when things began to happen.

"No!" Gwen squawked as Morgause tried to cut down Merlin from behind. Merlin spun around at the noise, his hand out and his eyes glowing. Morgause was sent spiraling back partly from magic and partly from shock.

"Merlin…" Morgana hissed. "You…"

But she didn't have time to say anything else, because they were engaged in battle. Morgause, realizing that she had to get through Arthur's spell caster to get to Arthur, shot spells at Merlin, but he was too quick for her. He blocked them easily and sent back others, which she in turn blocked.

Arthur rushed for Morgana, determined to apprehend her. But she shot some magical fire at him, and on instinct he raised his sword to block it—and found that the sword almost seemed to attract the fire, and Arthur wasn't harmed by it. Morgana growled and shot more spells at him, which he evaded, still trying to get at her.

Gwen's eyes were the size of saucers as she pushed herself back up against a wall next to the large window and watched in confusion, wanting to help but not knowing how. She watched as Arthur was put on the defensive and as Morgause and Merlin seemed evenly matched, which was a concept she didn't even care to wrap her head about at the present moment.

And then Merlin ended his battle, suddenly two consecutive spells, and the second made it past Morgause's defenses. The unnaturally bright flame burrowed into her chest, and she screamed, and for a moment no one moved as Morgause toppled. Her blonde hair spread out around her, but her chainmail was melted and she was unmistakably dead.

Morgana howled. Merlin and Arthur both jumped as grief twisted the queen's face, and she turned on Merlin, snarling. "Look what you've done!" she cried. "You killed her!"

Merlin had pitied her for so long, but he felt empty of that particular emotion as he looked her right in her bright eyes and shrugged. "You killed Lancelot," he pointed out, so softly she almost didn't hear.

But she did hear. Her face contorted further into an ugly mask, and without warning her still so untrained magic lashed out with her temper. Arthur watched with horror as Merlin was lifted from the floor, and in what seemed to be slow motion to the frozen prince, she used her powers to throw him out the large window.

Merlin's body slammed into the glass, shattering it into glistening shards, and Gwen ducked away, also crying out.

"No!" Arthur choked as Merlin seemed to linger in the air for a second.

He thought he heard Merlin start to chant a spell. And then the sorcerer fell out of sight, and the glass rained down into the courtyard.

Arthur went cold. From his toes to his head; through his very core, he felt colder than he ever had during the most frigid midwinter. _He fell down into the courtyard. His body would be a broken, glassy mess right now… _Arthur could see it in his mind's eye. No! No, could he have survived the fall?

Arthur didn't think so.

He turned back to Morgana, feeling like he couldn't breathe for fear, and though she still looked at her dead sister, she managed to glance at him and smirk.

Something roared in Arthur's ears. And somehow, he suddenly felt a lot hotter.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _Explanation for sword: it likes fire because of Kilgharrah's breathing on it. _

_Er. Oh, gosh, I'm about to get mobbed, aren't I? Please! It's not all as bad as it looks! It's just… you know, a sort of cliff hangar. Next chapter should be the final one, and I'll try to get it up this week end, and now I'm getting out of here before I get attacked with pitchforks. _

_Please review. No fear, though; my plan for our boys shall prevail! It's always darkest before the… Okay, I'm going! _

_~Kitty O of Awesomeness, PBO_


	17. Last Chapter

**Title:** Assassins

**Author:** Kitty O

**Rating:** T

* * *

><p><strong>Part Three: Assassins<strong>

**Chapter Seventeen: Last Chapter **

Her chest was shaking; her bosom shook with the deep, ripping breaths that just kept being yanked into her lungs and out again. She was bent nearly double with a sudden pain in her middle. The metaphorical pain from falling down the staircase had suddenly made itself known.

_She took Lancelot. _

Gwen looked up, not even realizing that tears were pouring down her face. Arthur and Morgana were fighting in front of her in the debris-strewn hall.

_Then she took Elyan. _

Arthur was trying to get at her, his sword out, but she continued to push him away with spells. He blocked the worst of them or dived out of the way. His face was contorted into fury.

_She may have just taken Merlin. _

Gwen felt her breath speeding up into hyperventilation. Her eyes narrowed as Arthur was nearly roasted by a spell that Morgana spit out viciously, despite his attempts to get at her.

_Now she wants to take Arthur. _

Gwen couldn't kid herself; if Morgana won, she would reduce Arthur to a bloody, burned corpse and Gwen would have to watch it happen… Again.

Enough was enough. Growling deep in her throat, Gwen spotted Morgause's sword still lying on the ground where she'd dropped it, and she swallowed. The tears were still staining her cheeks but she didn't have the time to wipe them away.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

When Merlin hit the window, Arthur stopped caring if Morgana was captured or killed. In that second, all he wanted to do was to take out the woman who'd thrown that skinny man – yes, a sorcerer, but _his_ sorcerer! – out into the courtyard. He'd just wanted to get to her and stop her for good.

Easier said than done. No matter how murderously he threw himself at her, she pushed him away again and laughed. He bit down on his bottom teeth, seething. The image of Merlin hitting the window, his eyes growing wide as glass shattered around him just kept playing in his head.

It was distracting him, so he pushed it away and went for Morgana again.

_I can't reach her without… the sorcerer. _He admitted it. He needed a better plan. Maybe if he could exhaust her? Just let her throw spells at him until she was too tired to move, and then grab her?

But he didn't have that sort of time. Merlin could be bleeding out on the ground and surrounded by enemies!

Morgana laughed when he hesitated. "I'm not going to let you go this time," she swore, her voice suddenly deadly serious. "You killed Morgause!"

Arthur didn't answer.

"You will join your pet sorcerer soon," she told him. "You can't win."

Arthur saw red and, gasping for breath, he lunged. She lifted her hand to cast another spell at him, undoubtedly something lethal. But she never got that far. For when she raised her hand, instead of a spell, a gurgle came out of her mouth. Arthur stopped and movement drew his eyes to her chest—something was coming out of her. A blade of a sword was thrust through her, and Morgana looked down with surprise at the bloodied weapon. Then she looked up at Arthur with an expression that said, "How did you do that?"

Then she coughed, and blood bubbled up around her lips and down her chin. Morgana collapsed, dead. Behind her, Gwen was standing with her hair frizzy and her face covered in tears, her hands still in front of her as though they still held the hilt of Morgause's sword, which was now inside Morgana's chest.

"Guinevere," Arthur gasped.

Gwen put a hand to her mouth and gave a small sob. "She was going to kill you."

He wanted to take her into his arms. But he didn't have time… He had Merlin and undead soldiers to deal with. "Please, Gwen," he said, "I have to stop the soldiers before they kill us; please… him…" He looked helplessly at the window.

She was confused. "Elyan…" she said, her voice hitching. But then she checked herself. "I'm sure Merlin's alive." And she turned tail and fled towards the stairs to go check. Arthur wanted to go with her.

In a trance-like daze, his thoughts beginning to solidify like water in freezing weather, he made his way towards the room where Merlin had said the Cup would be when he scried it. It was on this floor, not too far away, but about five soldiers got in Arthur's way as he tried to go knock it over. Barely looking at them, Arthur emotionlessly drew his sword across them and let them explode.

He went into the Cup. The spell had disappeared with the life-force of the two witches. Putting a hand out, he knocked the Cup from the pedestal, and stepped back.

The golden chalice spiraled through the air, the floor trying to pull it faster and faster to the earth, but still it seemed unbearably slow to Arthur. Then, with a metallic echoing clatter, the Cup of Life smashed into the ground and bounced, red liquid splattering up around it.

Something ripped through the air, and Arthur jumped with the energy.

That was done, then.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Arthur ran to the courtyard. He didn't care if servants gawked. No one stopped him; there were no more soldiers.

Gwen had cleared away some of the glass by his body. He was lying on the stones, his head tilted, his legs curled under themselves and his hands out as though to embrace someone. Arthur felt his heart stop as he rushed up and fell to his knees beside Gwen, who was sitting there looking at the body… and crying.

"No," he muttered, his hands moving of their own accord. He shook Merlin's arm. "No, don't be dead," he said.

"Arthur," Gwen said softly, still through her tears.

"Please no," he repeated, ignoring her, grabbing at Merlin's wrist. He dropped it in his nervousness. "Come on," he said. "Sorcerer, sorcerer… You good-for-nothing sorcerer, come on!" His heart was twisted inside his chest and his face was twisting along with it. Were those tears threatening to appear? He finally managed to get his fingers on the right place on Merlin's wrist, but was too impatient and checked his neck instead.

"Sorcerer," he said one last time, and then, throwing the last of his betrayed anger to the wind, he nearly whimpered, "Merlin? Merlin, please."

There. A pulse. A strong pulse. Arthur collapsed into himself, sighing.

"He's alive, Arthur," Gwen was saying. "Arthur…?" She pulled at his arm, and he looked towards her, deflated.

"Arthur…" she repeated. He understood.

"Go to your brother, Guinevere," he said. She was gone nearly before he finished saying her name. And then Arthur turned back to his sorcerer—no, Merlin now! Merlin! His alive best friend!

Merlin's eyes cracked open. "Ow," he said.

Arthur grinned like a fool through bright eyes.

"I knew that fall-cushioning spell would come in handy," Merlin told him wisely, trying to sit up. "But it still hurt! Arthur, what is it?"

Arthur laughed. "I thought she'd killed you for a second there, you idiot!" And then he reached forward and pulled Merlin into a brief but firm hug.

"It would take more than her," Merlin snorted, looking rather pleased at Arthur's sudden display of affection.

"I know that, Merlin."

Merlin looked shocked, sitting up fully as Arthur climbed to his feet. "'Merlin'?" he repeated.

"That's your name, isn't it?" said Arthur with a smile, and helped his friend to his feet.

"Does that mean you aren't going to execute me?"

Arthur chuckled. "Um, no, still undecided. Let's find the others and let the knights and my father out of wherever they're locked up."

Merlin looked towards the front of the city. "I thought I saw Gwen. What about Elyan?"

Sobriety pounced on Arthur suddenly, wiping the smile from his face. "We have a duty to the living first," Arthur said. "Then to the dead."

They found the others quickly; they were hiding in the same passage where Merlin had taken Mordred the first time he laid eyes on the Druid boy. Gwaine and Percival and Leon were trying to figure out why they didn't hear any more guards running around outside. After they were found and greetings and "I'm so glad you survived!"s were swapped, they went to release the knights and Uther.

The knights were raring to go, ready to do anything they were told to as long as Arthur gave the orders. Uther nearly fell into his son's arms, shaking uncontrollably, and he was brought to his chambers and put to bed. Arthur determined to send for Gaius at once – a knight was thrilled to be given this command – and have him watch after Uther, as well as any injuries that might have been sustained by any of the fighters. Leon looked like he needed a physician too—he was bruised and cut up.

And then they went to care for the bodies of Elyan, Morgana, and Morgause. Elyan was taken care of first. Even if they had wanted to do something different – which they didn't – Gwen would not have allowed it.

As she cried into his shirt, Arthur comforted her, "He saved us all with his actions. He was a hero."

She sniffed. "I know," she said. And she hugged him tighter.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Merlin came when he was called. That was one thing Arthur could depend on the man for. He was a little like one of Arthur's dogs that way.

It had been nearly a week since Arthur had taken back Camelot and became King Regent until his father improved. Gaius was busy as a bee, seeing to everyone's injuries and lamenting how everyone could manage to get themselves so hurt in a few hours. And who, according to him, let themselves get thrown _out of a window _and gets a slight concussion from it?

Then Hunith had shown up, wanting to see if her boy was still alive. Merlin had let her stay in his room for a few days, but with everyone so busy and no opportunity to help, she finally just kissed his head, told him she loved him, and left.

Arthur was busy with matters of the state. People were worried Camelot was weak. People were worried Arthur was weak. Cenred was dead, so the neighboring kingdom was extremely unstable at the moment. The people were mourning those they lost in Morgana's violent reign. And with all this, Arthur had barely had time to think about Merlin's secret.

But finally he came to his decision, and that was why he called Merlin, confident that the servant would come.

And come he did. Merlin was there within minutes, standing in front of Arthur's desk expectantly, waiting to be told what his King Regent wanting. "What is it?" he asked. "I was busy cleaning your boots… Do you know how much mud you got into them since…?"

"I decided what to do about you," Arthur said, leaning back.

Merlin paled. He'd been thinking about that too, for the past days. He was _almost_ sure that Arthur didn't plan to execute him. But he wasn't at all sure that he wouldn't be banished, and Merlin would rather die than have to leave his home again. He'd lose all his friends. Arthur would probably be killed, with no protection! Merlin swallowed convulsively.

Arthur could be cruel sometimes, but he saw the panic in Merlin's eyes and relented before he even started dragging it out. "For the moment," he said, "I'm going to do nothing."

Merlin's eyebrows went up.

"You are allowed to keep using your magic as you see fit, but keep it a secret for the time being. It's still illegal at this time, and I don't want to deal with having to sentence and then pardon you. I'm too busy. But I think that Camelot is still too raw after Morgana's reign to legalize magic immediately. The people would be terrified."

"Wait," Merlin interrupted, wild hope in his face. "You plan on legalizing magic?"

Arthur's eyebrows drew together. "Eventually," he said. "If I used it to take back Camelot, I can't very well still claim that it's evil, can I?" He looked subdued. "My father was a great king," he said. "But he was still a man, and not always right."

Merlin looked surprised. "You think that magic was an area in which he was wrong?"

Arthur nodded. "I do."

Merlin couldn't keep the grin off of his face. He looked towards the window, seeing the Pendragon banners that once again flew around the city in their red glory. This was more than he'd dared to hope for.

"Thank you, Sire," said Merlin.

"For what?" asked Arthur, standing up from his place at the desk and coming around.

Merlin smiled, blinking quickly and shrugging nervously. "I don't know," he said. "For not killing me, I guess."

Arthur gave him a tight little smile. "Your welcome." He clasped his hand around Merlin's arm for a second of friendship.

And then he let go. "_Mer_lin," he said, secretly reveling in his use of his servant's name. "Go make yourself useful. I only have a few hours before I have more work, and I plan on napping. So if you interrupt me in that time, I will take back everything I said and probably throw you down the stairs. Is that understood?"

Merlin laughed and bowed. "Yes, Sire!" he cried, and scrambled from the room.

Arthur smiled after him for a second, and then turned and, without undressing, collapsed onto his bed. _His _bed. Comfortable and soft and just how he liked it.

An absent-minded smile came to his lips as he closed his eyes, every thought but that of his comfort at this moment fleeing. It was _good_ to be home.

**End. **

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _SOOOOOO… What did you think? Really. This is the last chapter, so please, please shoot me a review and tell me what you thought. The plot, the characters, the writing, whatever, I just want to know! I can't believe I'm finally done! Whew! _

_Thank you everyone who stuck with me through this. And a special thanks to those unsigned reviewers I never thank enough. _

_Now, do whatever you usually do at the end of a story. Favorite. Rec. Unalert. Dance a tango single-handedly, I don't care!_

_Live long and prosper!_

_~Kitty O of Awesomeness, PBO. _


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